


Bulletproof Love || NaLu

by xXdark_passengerXx



Category: Fairy Tail
Genre: Cheating, Divorce, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-01
Updated: 2018-04-25
Packaged: 2019-05-03 18:20:17
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 21
Words: 34,933
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14574843
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/xXdark_passengerXx/pseuds/xXdark_passengerXx
Summary: ❝my love for you was bulletproof, but you're the one who shot me❞-COMPLETED-Natsu and Lucy marry each other out of love. It's been two years, and they have a beautiful daughter that's eleven months. One night, Natsu figures something out and the two have a terrible fight, they decide to get a divorce, although... One of them didn't want to, for their daughter. For their love. Lucy realizes her mistakes and calls Natsu three years later.  She feels a tear roll down her cheek as she hears his voice.





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> ORIGINAL AT WATTPAD.COM - xXdark_passengerXx

 A certain salmon haired male walked down the halls of his office. He walked out into the winter night and towards his car. As he sat in the vehicle, his phone lit up. He picked his phone up and saw it was a message from an anonymous messenger.

      "Not again," he mumbled as he threw his phone to the passenger seat. He groaned and slapped a hand over his face. He didn't want to deal with this at the moment, or ever. No one would want to.

    For the past week, he had been getting text messages that his wife has been cheating on him. He's been getting photos of her with another man and such. He refused to believe it, and thought of it as a prank or photoshop. Someone had to just be messing with him, right?

      No matter how much he loved his partner, everyday he began doubting his trust for her, little by little. It wasn't like he wanted to, it's just the little clues she's been giving. The distance between the two was growing too. So, he decided to clear things up tonight with his wife. Hopefully, the outcome wouldn't end too badly.

     Absentmindedly, he drove home. His heart pounded against his chest, just thinking of the many different outcomes of his talk with his wife.

    Snapping back into reality, he realized he was luckily he hadn't gotten into an accident. Picking up his phone, he pushed the car door and walked towards his house.

     He pushed the door quietly, it still creaking. He realized the slower you pushed it, the louder the creaks will be. There was no way to keep it from making noise.

     "I'm home," Natsu called out quietly, knowing their daughter of eleven months must be asleep, or should be, anyway. He took off his jacket it and hung it in the closet.

     "Welcome back!" his blonde wife, Lucy, replied as she walked to him. She gave him a quick kiss on his lips, which he was timid about. She took notice and became more cautious. Still, she gave him a hug with a smile.

      "How was your day?" she asked as she sat on the sofa. Natsu shrugged, not knowing how to bring a subject along the lines of  _are-you-cheating-on-me?_

     "It was all right, but I've been meaning to ask you about something," his voice trailed off as he looked to the side. He couldn't dare look at her, let alone her eyes. He was ashamed for even considering she was with another man.

     "Shoot." She gave a warm smile and put her hand on his, reassuring him she was listening.

      "You know I love you, trust you. I'd take a bullet for you. I'd even die than do anything bad to you, but I just wanna know, do you feel the same?" Natsu spoke with stern eyes. Lucy just stared at him with a look of confusion. Where had his question come from?

      "Of course!" she replied. She grabbed both of his hands with hers to help convince him with her response. He searched her eyes for any lies, but they seemed clouded than clear.

      "So you rather die than...cheat on me?" he choked out, looking at their intertwined hands. He didn't want to believe it. He knew it wasn't true. He knew this conversation was pointless and ridiculous. Why did he have to bring it up in the first place?

     "Natsu—"

      Natsu shook his head and interrupted her, "Just tell me. It's one thing to say something than actually proving it." She looked at him. She looked at him as if it was the last time she would ever look at him, and the last time he would ever look at her. It probably was the last time.

      "I love you...I love Nashi, I love our family. I wanted to be by your side when I grew old. I love you, but I also feel the same for...another man," she confessed, tears threatening to fall from her eyes. At this moment, Natsu felt like he broke down. You could hear his heart shatter from miles away. Lucy knew she did.

       "Why did you say yes?" he whispered. At first, she thought he was talking about the affair, but then realized it was about their marriage. She turned her attention to the floor. "Why did you say yes on the day of our wedding?" he asked again, raising his voice a little. She continued her gaze on the floor, not wanting to look at his fierce, yet sad, eyes.

      "Because I love you," she raised her voice, a little more than Natsu had. They both already had a feeling of the result of their fight. Natsu dreaded the ending already. Maybe, he should have kept his mouth shut.

       "Do you not remember your vows? Were you lying when you said you would be loyal?" he questioned again a little louder. Lucy scoffed at him not being able to understand how she felt. He didn't get it and he would never.

      "You would do the same if you loved two women!" Lucy practically yelled back. Natsu gave a sarcastic laugh back. He couldn't believe she thought he would cheat on her; not after all these years.

      "Would I? We've been dating since sophomore year! Since we were 16! We're 25 now! You expect me to just leave?" he argued, his anger getting the best of him. He loved his wife, but he absolutely hated arguing with her.

       "You wouldn't know how I feel if it hit you in the face! You don't know how long I've been trying to get rid of one of my feelings for either you or him! I hate trying to keep a secret from you! I hate loving you both!" Lucy's voice trembled as she spoke. She hated breaking down in front of someone, but when it was in front of Natsu, she would always feel less vulnerable. She bit her bottom lip to prevent the tears from falling.

      "If you could, you would get rid of your feelings towards me and leave our daughter?" Natsu scoffed at her. He couldn't believe this was the same woman he befriended all those years ago.

    It was one thing leaving him, but leaving their daughter for another man was just low. It was a bad idea and he knew she knew.

      "I hate loving you. I love you—"

     She got cut off again by him. "I'm starting to doubt those words." His voice was sincere and scared, but it was also harsh. It seemed as if he was confused, which he probably was, Lucy concluded. 

        "Then why don't I leave! Why don't you just sign these papers!" Lucy threw Natsu some divorce papers.

    Catching it, he stared at her in disbelief. She actually chose another man over him. She chose to leave their daughter. She no longer loved him. That broke his heart even more.

      "You were planning to get a divorce?" he quietly asked, the tone of his voice changing drastically. She just stared blankly into his deep, green eyes.

      "You want me to leave or not?" He looked up from the papers, feeling disgusted at her at the moment. She knew how it felt to grow up without a mother— They both did.

      "You want our daughter to grow up without a mother?" Natsu's fists tightened, clenching the papers in his hands. He couldn't believe her.

      "You can take care of her, after all, you've been here for the past eleven months she's been alive, right? You were always here, weren't you?" she spoke with venom and sarcasm in her voice.

    "I've been here more than you ever were!" he spat back at her, the paper almost ripping with the tension in his hands.

      "Just sign the damn papers!" she yelled back, wanting to end this fight between them. It was hard enough for her to this. She definitely didn't need him to drag the agony out.

       "You want to leave so badly? Fine," he whispered as he grabbed a pen from the table and signed his name on the crumpled piece of paper, "Then leave."

    Natsu knew he would regret this, he already did as he signed the papers. Lucy looked at him and Natsu looked back. That night, Natsu knew he would never see the love of his life ever again. 

      "I will."   
  
  
  
  


**_-edited-_ **


	2. Chapter One

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ORIGINAL AT WATTPAD.COM - xXdark_passengerXx

     "Nashi! Come eat your lunch!" Natsu yelled at his daughter. It had been three years since the mother of Nashi left. Three years since he's been broken.

     "Daddy!" his daughter cheered, putting her arms out so he can pick her up.

     He chuckled. "You're a little old for that, don't you think?" he questioned his daughter. Nashi gave him the puppy eyes.

     "Fine, only if...you finish your food!" Nashi frantically nods her head. She lifted her arms out.

     "Yay!" Nashi cheered. Natsu smiled at his daughter. She had pink hair—like her father—, and chocolate, brown eyes like her mother's.

     "All right, come up here, you monster," the father said, picking up his child.

"Wow, you've gained weight!" he exclaimed as Nashi pouted. She looked away as Natsu tried not to laugh at her "being upset".

      "I'm kidding. Now, eat." He put her in the baby stool. Natsu's head perked up at his phone ringing.

      He groaned as he stood up straight. "My one day off," he mumbled. Nashi only giggled. He looked to her and smiled. "Stay right here, I'll be right back!" He walked towards his phone. He checked the caller, by when he did,  he only stared at it.

 _She_ hadn't called in three years, and now she did.

      "Hello?" Natsu greeted as he answered the phone, and honestly, he was scared, she broke his heart once, why wouldn't she do it again? What if he begged her to come back? Who knows what'd he say, what'd she say.

 _"Natsu? Look, I'm sorry! I miss our daughter. The man left me, you never did, and you never would, please!"_ Lucy pleaded from the other side of the phone. Natsu tried his best not to say yes. Instead, he gave a half-hearted laugh.

     "What, you expect me to forgive you? Hell no," he said, about to hang up.

_"Wait! You said you'd always be there for me—"_

     "And you said you'd never cheat. Guess we both lie, don't you think?" Natsu interrupted. He began walking a little out of Nashi's hearing range. He didn't want her to be worried or upset by any yelling and stuff.

 _"Nastu..."_ He hung up before she could say anything else. He wanted her here. He wanted her back. He almost said yes, but he won't make the same mistakes twice. Not again. Or at least that's what Natsu hoped.

       "Daddy!" Nashi whined, wanting to feel her father's presence. Natsu smiled. He changed his mind. Some stuff definitely weren't mistakes.

     "Coming, you monster!" he yelled, going back to her.

     About fifteen minutes later, the doorbell rang. Natsu had just tucked Nashi in her bed for a nap. "Ugh," he groaned as he walked to the door.

       "What's with you, flame-brain?" a raven haired man spoke. Natsu rolled his eyes at the annoying man standing in front of him.

     "I'm not in the mood, Gray." Natsu said, walking to the sofa. Gray followed behind, wanting to know why his brother-like friend wasn't felling well.

     "What's up?" Gray asked, plopping down beside him.

      "Nothing, it's just...Luce called..." Natsu whispers as he looked down in his lap. Gray didn't know what to say. Gray knew the divorce was tough on Natsu, and the fact that he had to raise a daughter with a job; he knew it must've been difficult.

       Gray also saw how hard he tried to act happy, for everyone, for Nashi. He had been living these past three years as a lie. Everything he did was a lie without Lucy.

      "What'd she say?" Gray spoke carefully, not wanting to trigger anything in Natsu. Natsu kept his gaze on his lap.

     "She wanted to come back."

      "What'd you say?"

      "I said no." There was a hint of sadness in his voice. Gray sighed as he began thinking of stuff to say to Natsu that would convince him he did the right thing. But no matter what he would've said, he knew Natsu would forever love her.

      "Natsu," Gray began.

     "No, no, it's fine. What can you do? At least I don't have to look at her." Natsu said back with a dry laugh. Little did he know, he was dead wrong.

_******************************_

     "Lucy, you know he's going to be upset," Levy spoke as she rubbed her stomach lightly. Levy was four months pregnant and was expecting a boy.

     "I know, but I miss him, and I could tell that he misses me, too!" Lucy sighed as she looked to Levy, who shook her head.

      "How do you know? How can you be so sure that after that night, he misses you?" Levy took a sip of her tea.

     "I just...know!" Lucy said frustratedly as she raised her hand to her face. She leaned back in her seat and looked up at the ceiling, hoping something good would happen.

      "Lucy, are you sure about this? You made him feel like crap before. Who knows if you're going to do it again?" the blue haired woman said. Lucy knew she was right, but she didn't want to admit it.

       "What do you mean?" Lucy looked at Levy, hoping what she thought Levy meant wasn't true.

     "What if Sting wants you back?" Lucy almost broke into a fit of laughter. She tried calming herself down, but she couldn't bring herself to do so. She held her stomach as she began getting cramps.

     "What makes you think I'm going to go after the guy who left me?" She spoke once she finally had calmed down.

       Levy just stared at the woman in front of her and was amazed at how dense she was. "What'd you do to Natsu?" Lucy's face changed from laughter, to confusion, to realization. She banged her head on the wall beside her, repeatedly. Over and over.

      "Gosh, I'm an idiot." Levy smiled.

  "That you are. You'll figure it out, but don't make the same mistake twice." And with that, Levy walked out of the café.

      Lucy just sat there, thinking. She knew she made a mistake, but she didn't think it was this big of a problem.

 _Maybe I should just go to his door._ Lucy thought.  _Oh! I'll go to his brother first and see what's happening in his life!_ And with that, she got up ready to leave and go on an adventure—a  _mission!_

_I'm not going to to stop. Not until I fix my mistakes...I just hope you didn't move on...Natsu._  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


**_-edited-_ **  
  
  


**_i wrote this chapter, like, last year. so it's cringy. sorry. i tried editing it though. plus i'm not starting this book in july anymore, i'll start it end of may. but here's a chapter anyway._ **


	3. Chapter Two

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ORIGINAL AT WATTPAD.COM - xXdark_passengerXx

_Ding dong._

Lucy rang the doorbell of, none other than, Zeref Dragneel. She needed answers, almost like a life update on Natsu's life. She needed to know how to fix these mistakes she made.

"Hello, how can I—Lucy?" Zeref asks as he opens the door. Lucy gives a small smile. He moves to the side as saying, " _come in"_. She nods her head and walks in. "So, what's up?" Zeref asks Lucy. She never had called or visited him, Natsu, or even her own daughter.

"I know that I've made mistakes...a lot...but I realize what they are and I want to fix them," she explains.

"If you mean getting back with Natsu, then I think it's best if you leave," Zeref replies.

"Natsu always said that people deserve second chances!" Lucy reasons.

"Look, I don't want my little brother's heart to break...again, by the same person."

  "Please! Just answer a few questions."

     Zeref thought about it. "Fine."

     "Is he seeing anyone?" Lucy asks. Zeref just pondered. A minute later, he has an answer.

      "Yeah, he's dating  _Lisanna._ He thought she'd be a good mother figure," Zeref lies. Lucy just gasps. "Yeah, they're actually getting married in...five months," he hesitantly adds.

     "You know what, I...I think I'll take my leave. Thank you." And with that, Lucy drives to her ex-husband's house. How she  _hated_ adding the ex. Then she remembers she was the one who added it.

    She reaches there and runs out the car and rapidly rings the doorbell. There were so many questions she needed answers for, answers she wanted to her from Natsu's mouth. It had been two days from their phone call.

      Natsu opens the door and sees the blonde figure in front of him. He opens his mouth to say something, but immediately closes his mouth. He had fire burning in his eyes and a look of sadness in them.

     "What?" he chokes out, with venom in his voice.

     "I want to see my daughter," she speaks. She knew she needed baby steps to get where she wanted. She also knew that Natsu wouldn't say "No"since he was understanding.

      "Get in," he says, walking back in his house. It was just as Lucy had remembered it. Although it had similarities, it also had its differences. Like the pictures of them and their wedding weren't up anymore, she could understand why.

     "So, what've you been up to?" Lucy awkwardly asks.

     "I've been taking care of Nashi, working, usual stuff without a wife." He continues walking down the hall to the kitchen. "You?"

      "Me? Oh, me. I've been, uh, you know, with a guy, in an apartment. I got an abortion with his baby two years ago. He left me last week, and—" Lucy stopped herself as she realized that she began to ramble. "Sorry, how has your love life been?" Natsu shrugs.

     "No girl caught my interest. I don't want o be with anyone, they're all not—"  _You,_ Natsu thinks. "—my type." They finally arrived to the kitchen.

       There Nashi was, playing with her food whilst giggling. Lucy put her hands to her mouth. Natsu smiles at their reunion.

      "My baby," Lucy whisper as she slowly walks to Nashi. Nashi only stared with a smile. "It's mama, I'm-I'm back, baby. I missed you." Lucy  hugs her baby.

      "Mama? Mama left," Nashi replied. Lucy stared at her.

     "Oh, you learnt to speak!" Lucy let out a tear and it slid down her cheek. She couldn't believed she missed out on her baby's first word. Her first walk. She couldn't believe she left her daughter without a mother for the first three years of her life. But it was okay now since she realized he mistakes. That should be enough, right?

    "I love you, baby." Lucy whispers. Nashi smiles.

      "I wove you, mama." Nastu stared at the two, smiling as his heart ached.

      He wished he could see this everyday. He wished Lucy could be his wife again. Not a single day went by without his fantasies about a future with Lucy.

     Not a day went by without him missing her.

     Not a day went by without him loving her.

     Not a day went by without him wishing it was a nightmare she left three years ago.

      Not a day went by without him wanting her kisses.

      Natsu sighs. "Can I stay the night, please? Lucy asks as she turns around. Natsu looked hesitant.

       "Well, um, I actually have work tomorrow, and—" Lucy claps her hands.

   "Perfect! I could take care of Nashi then!"

      Natsu didn't know how to respond to that. He wanted her to stay, but he knew if she stayed for even another five minutes, he'd be begging her to marry him again.

      He also couldn't say no.

     "Um, sure. I just cleaned the guest room, too, so okay." Natsu awkwardly smiles.

     "Great! Lead the way!" she cheers. Natsu walks to Nashi and puts her on his hip.

       "This way." Natsu walked upstairs to the room, with Lucy trailing behind him. "Here." Natsu opens the door.

     "Thank you, I was also hoping, um, never mind. I'm going to settle in." Lucy walked in and shut the door. Natsu looked to his daughter who had a goofy grin.

     "I know, she's awesome," he whispers to his child as he walks to his room. It was still daytime, but Nashi needed her nap. Natsu lays her down and kisses her forehead.

     Natsu checked the time. It was 18:30. He decided to see how Lucy was doing. He knocked on the guest room's door.

      "Lucy?" he called out.

     "Hm?" her muffled voice responds.

    "You need anything?" He heard shuffling noises and the door open.

      "I'm good, I'll be out after a shower." Natsu smiles and nods his head. She closes the door and Natsu walks downstairs.

     He decided to call Gray to tell him everything.

_"Hello?"_

     "Hi, uh, guess what?"

 _"Look, as much as I would love to hear about your day, I have better things to do."_ Gray was about to hang up.

     "Lucy's staying the night," Natsu blurted out, hoping Gray heard. A moment of silence  went by.

     " _Why aren't you talking? Explain._

      Natsu explained everything to him and Gray listened through the entire thing.

_"_ _You're an idiot."_

      "I know," Natsu sighs.

_"Just...don't do anything stupid and add more misery to your life, 'kay?"_

      "Thanks for the advice. Bye," Natsu mutters as he hung up the phone.

       He flopped on his couch and grabbed his hair in frustration.

      "Why can't life be simple?" he whispers  under his breath. Before he knew it, he fell asleep.

     "Natsu?"

     "Natsu?"

     "Natsu!"

       Natsu's eyes shot open to his name being called. He sat up. He looked to his left to see Lucy on her knees, her face near where his ear was. She had her hand in front of her face.

      "Yeah?"

     "Well, um, Nashi was crying, so I fed her. It's now 21:20, and she's asleep. I was going to, too, but I couldn't because I had a bad dream. I was wondering if I could, um, sleep beside you," Lucy explains.

     Natsu blinked and rubbed his eyes. "Um..." he was completely unsure of what to do. He was really tired and she looked tired, too. He wanted her to get sleep, but he didn't want to sleep with her.

    "Uh, sure. You can't fit on the couch, it's too small, so, let's go to my room," Natsu mumbles as he and her walk upstairs.

     He enters his room. He flopped on his bed. Lucy crawled beside him. She was on the left as Natsu was on the right.

      "Natsu?" Natsu hums in response. "I'm cold." Natsu turns around, so his face was facing hers.

      Natsu debated if he should warm her. In the end, he did. He wrapped his arms around her as she nuzzled into his chest.

      "Thank you, Natsu. For everything. I will try my best to be your wife again. I love you." That was the last thing Lucy had said before she drifted to her sleep. Once Natsu knew she was sleep, he smiled.

     "I'm counting on you."  
  
  
  
  
  
  


**_-edited-_ **


	4. Chapter Three

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ORIGINAL AND MORE AT WATTPAD.COM/XXDARK_PASSENGERXX

Lucy's eyes flutter open. She stretches and yawns.

"Ah, good morning, Nat—" she looked to her right to see an empty space. She slouched. "Right. We're not...anymore," she mumbles as she gets up.

She walks down the stairs after brushing her teeth and getting ready.

"Good morning—"

"Heartfilia." Lucy looks in the living room to see Gray sitting there.

Lucy smiles, "Good morning." Gray groans and stands up. "What?" Lucy innocently asks.

"Just because a man you were playing around with left you, doesn't mean you could go play around with Natsu. He deserves better than you." Lucy sighs.

"Getting straight to the point, are we?" Lucy smirks as she walks to him. Gray gave a heartless laugh. Lucy stood there, not letting him know she was confused.

"Smirks don't suit you, hun."

"Why're you here?"

"I already told you. Natsu deserves better. By tonight, you should be out of the house or I'll have your sorry arse on the streets." Lucy glares at Gray as he does the same.

"Natsu wouldn't let you," she remarks as he laughs.

"He doesn't need to know I kicked you out."

Lucy ignores him, "Where's Natsu?"

"Changing the subject?" He smirks. "He's at work. You know, a job; earning money. Unlike you."

"I have a job!" Lucy yelled at him as his smirk grew.

"Really? What are you, a stripper?"

"Hypocrite."

He puts his fist up. "I ain't no stripper!" He calmed down and spoke again, "Tch. Can't you leave him alone?"

     Lucy gave a sad smile. "I know you don't want him hurt and he's like a brother to you, but I promise...I won't let his heart break again. Please, give me a chance."

     "You know, there's this saying," Gray frowned, "Giving someone a second chance is like giving them a second bullet because they missed you the first time."

    I shook my head. "I don't need your approval. Natsu's a grown man and he can make decisions himself. He doesn't need you or his help."

    "Actually," a voice came from behind them. Lucy's eyes widened as she turned around. Natsu looked behind Lucy to see the pink-headed father. "I do need him and his help."

    Lucy groaned. Out of all the things she said, he had to come when she said that?

    "Natsu, aren't you supposed to be at work?" Natsu shook his head. "Why?"

     "It's Saturday."

      "Ah." Gray smiled as Natsu's attention went to Lucy. Their eyes locked and Natsu gave a small sigh.

     "I didn't mean to say what I said. I—" Lucy started, but was interrupted by Natsu.

     "Gray, could you give us some privacy?" Gray nodded and took his leave. He didn't move his eyes from Lucy.

    "Natsu, I'm sorry I let you down," Lucy whispered.

     "You really meant what you said?" he asked. Lucy tilted her head in confusion. "About not breaking my heart again?" She vigorously nodded her head. He gulped as he stared deeper into her eyes. "Then please don't."

    "What do you mean?"

     "I'll give you another chance," he whispered as he walked closer to her. Now they were only a few inches apart. "If you kiss me." She gave a smile and leaned in as he did the same. Natsu trusts Lucy. He wanted her to realize her mistakes one day. He wished for this day since she left the door.

      Their lips touched and Natsu felt sparks run through his body. He felt the same as he did years ago. From the first time they kissed to the very last, it was the same for him. It was always like kissing her for the first time; and he liked it.   


       Natsu sat onto the couch, his earbuds in his ears. Lucy was in the shower, getting ready for a date Natsu asked to take her out to. Nashi was sleeping at the moment, so he had a  moment to himself. Suddenly, the worst song possible came on next; 'if you can't hang' by sleeping with sirens.

**_met a girl at seventeen_ **

He closed his eyes and leaned back. This song reflected between his and Lucy's relationship, he thought.

**_thought she meant the world to me_ **

The only difference was, in the song, it was about a girl, but then she left him. Then later, there was a new girl whom he loved. As for Natsu, there was only one girl.

**_so i gave her everything_ **

The song was still pretty much everything he felt. He sighed as he remembered their memories together.

**_she turned out to be a cheat_ **

_'_ Was this really a good idea?' he thought. 'What if she does the same thing again? What if she changes Nashi from what I want her to be?'

**_said she'd been thinking for a long time_ **

Soon, his thoughts drowned him. His mind felt tired so he decided to take a quick nap. As he slept, he still heard the song run through his ears.

**_and she found somebody new_ **

He loved her, but he'd also be prepared for when she leaves. Had she never left, he wouldn't be like this.

**_if you can't hang then, there's the door, baby_ **

****_"You wanna leave?" Natsu asked as he signed the papers, "Then leave."_

**_if you can't hang then, there's the door, baby_ **

****_She took the papers and gave him a poker face. She looked at him with the same face she was making, except she saw his eyes; they held many emotions._

**_if you can't hang then, there's the door, baby_ **

****_"I will."_

**_if you can't hang then, there's the door_**  
****  
****Natsu's eyes shot open. "That was one short nap." He rubbed his eyes tiredly. He looked around and noticed the shower stopped. He also heard a crying baby. He sighed as he got up, earbuds still in his ear.

**_i don't wanna take your precious time_ **

****"Yeah, yeah. I got you, chubby," he whispered as he picked up the little baby. She slowly stopped crying and lightly giggled as Natsu rocked her back and forth. He kept mumbling, "Shh," into her ear.

**_'cause you're such a pretty, pretty, pretty, pretty face_ **

****"You can wake up later. Last night, you slept at four. You need your rest, baby," he mumbled as he set her back down in her crib. Though she was three years old, she was still put in a crib. Her fourth birthdays was coming soon and Natsu decided to buy her a bed then.

**_but you turned into a pretty big waste of my time_ **

****Natsu turned around and closed the door behind him. The song was getting to him. A few other songs by sleeping with sirens came in his head. They had a couple of songs that kind of matched his situation.

**_i don't wanna take up all your time_ **

****"Natsu?" Lucy called. Natsu looked up and saw Lucy. He took an earbud out so he can hear her better.

**_'cause you're such a pretty, pretty, pretty, pretty face_ **

****"Yeah?" She gestured him to come over. "You're ready?" he asked. She nodded and smiled. Natsu was ready from before. He smiled again.

**_but you turned into a pretty big waste of my time_ **

****"Then let's go."  
  
  
  


**_-edited-_ **

**_sorry for the short chapter and if it isn't edited properly. i'll update again somewhere during the month—hopefully, twice._ **


	5. Chapter Four

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ORIGINAL AND MORE AT WATTPAD.COM/XXDARK_PASSENGERXX

"So," Lucy began as she looked to her left to see Natsu's eyes focused on the road, "how have you been?"

Natsu shrugged, not really knowing how to answer her question. "Physically, mentally, or financially?"

"Overall."

"I've been doing fine," he mumbled as he took a right. He didn't know where they were going, but he enjoyed driving in circles; talking. He remembered when they would order take-out and drive to a cliff. They'd stay in the car, eating and laughing with some faint music in the background. It was perfect—they were perfect.

Natsu sighs, "How have you been doing?"

"Not as great as people think." He raised an eyebrow. She decided to explain, "Nothing was ever the same. It never will be the same."

"I wonder why," Natsu sarcastically muttered under his breath. He glances at Lucy, who didn't notice his remark. "Where do you want to go out to eat?"

     Lucy shrugged. "I don't really remember any places around this area; it's been a while." She looked from Natsu to her lap. "But possibly sushi, maybe?"

     Natsu gave a toothy grin, making a sharp U turn. "En Sushi, it is!" Lucy have him a crazed look as she looked back up to him.

 _Who would make such a turn?_ she thought.

     "Do you remember that place?" he asked. She slightly shook her head before realizing she did remember.

     "Yeah, actually, it was the place we'd go to every week when you came back from work. That was, until months before our," she stopped for a moment, not daring to utter the word.

     She was going to continue, but Natsu spoke up for her, "Divorcement. I had noticed we stopped too, then." Lucy looked at her fingers in her lap, fiddling with them. She felt guilt drowning her.

    She really didn't deserve him.

Natsu pulled up in the parking lot as he parked. The two got out the car and walked in the restaurant. They had to wait thirty minutes since it was rush hour.

"Right this way," a waitress said as she guided the two to a table. "Let me know when you're ready to order." The waitress winked at Natsu as she gave him a menu, 'accidentally' brushing her hand over his.

Lucy felt a little anger at this. It didn't matter if this was a date or just hanging out, the lady could at least glance at her direction.

Natsu tried telling the lady they were fine, but she insisted to wait for their order.

Lucy smirked as she thought of an idea. "Baby, what looks interesting to you?" She knew she had no right to call him 'baby', but it probably meant the lady would go a way. Lucy then realized they weren't supposed to have menus. "Wait a minute, aren't we supposed to get an iPad and order on that?"

"They're not working properly—"

"They seem to be working fine." Lucy looked around and then back at the lady. Natsu took a sip of the water, thinking it'd hide some tension. "And I'd appreciate it if you didn't try getting in my husband's pants." Natsu choked on his water as his head jerked forward. He held a fist to his mouth.

He didn't know what to be flustered about: being called her husband or the remark she made.

The lady, clearly wanting to test Lucy, didn't move. "I don't see a ring on your finger," she pointed to Lucy's finger.

"But I see one on his." Lucy pointed to Natsu, who still never took off his ring, thinking it'd keep girls away. Also, since he missed Lucy.

"Doesn't mean it's your business, you whor—"

Lucy angrily got up, interrupting the lady, "What were you going to call me, bitc—"

Lucy was interrupted by Natsu's nervous chuckles. "Well, darling, I'm sure she doesn't mean any of it. Why don't you sit back down." Lucy does so and Natsu's gaze goes to the waitress. "And you can bring the iPad. If you cause any more trouble, I won't hesitate in speaking to your manager." She nodded her shad and scrambled somewhere else.

Natsu's sighed as he looked to Lucy. "What?" she innocently asked.

 _This is the reason I love you,_ he wanted to say, but instead said, "Nothing." A simple reply because he was afraid.

Afraid of loving her too much.

Natsu gave an awkward cough, before looking away.

Lucy smiled. She missed this, she missed him. She screwed up and she knew it. She just didn't know how to fix it. In all honesty, she didn't think she could.

The waitress soon came back with the iPad. "Sorry for the w-wait," she stuttered out as she gave Natsu the iPad, not daring to look him and Lucy in the eye.

"Thank you," Natsu causally said, as if nothing had happened. The waitress bowed and scurried off. "So," Natsu looked through the items in the menu, "What do you want?" He turned the iPad so she and him both could see.

The two ordered many different kind of sushi and waited for their order. As they waited, Natsu enjoyed the silence, thinking it was needed.

As for Lucy, she despised it and wanted to kill it quickly.

    "So," she began, "How's Nashi been?"

    Natsu smiled. "She's been great. Missing out on some important bits of her life, but, besides that, she's been great."

    "What's she missing?" Lucy asked confused as her eyebrows furrowed together. Suddenly, something clicked in her mind. Her eyes widen at the realization, and Natsu noticed, but he still decided to say it aloud.

    "A mother." Lucy felt a pang of pain hit her chest. She regretted everything. She hated the man she went to after she left Natsu behind. She hated leaving Nashi. She hated her decision. She hated herself.

     She loved Natsu and she wished she told him more often. She wished to prove it because; because of her, they both realized words and actions aren't the same. She wished she squeezed him to death when they slept at night. She wished she smiled brighter than she did when she woke up.

     She wished he'd love her again.

     Only if she could say all this aloud; she couldn't. She didn't deserve him. Knowing this, she still couldn't leave.

     Lucy awkwardly smiled. "She starts school next year, right?" Natsu nods his head. "That's nice to know," her voice became faint.

     "Here are your order, ma'am, sir," the waitress spoke as she placed the plates on our table.

    Natsu thanked her and the two began eating.

   ---

        Lucy wanted to hold his hand. They silently walked back to Natsu's car. Natsu's hands were in his pockets, so it was impossible to just causally grab it anyway.

    Natsu unlocked the door and held the door for Lucy. "M'Lady," he joked as he chucked. Lucy sadly giggled as she remember how he'd always say that whenever he held the door for her.

    "Thank you, monsieur." He bowed and went to his seat.

     As they drove, Lucy fidgeted with her hands. Natsu noticed and placed one of his hands on hers. From the corner of her eye, Lucy could see his small yet bright smile. She missed this.

    They arrived home and Natsu held the door for Lucy, so she could enter the house.

    "You don't mind me staying," Lucy nervously asked, "right?"

    Natsu gave a tired chuckle. "Not at all." Lucy smiled and Natsu led her to the guest bedroom. "Here."

    "Thank you, Natsu." She went inside the room and closed the door. Natsu didn't leave. Instead, he stood there. Smiling as he stared it.

    He soon came back to his senses and left the door. He walked to his own room and changed to some more comfortable clothes.

    He was going to go to bed, but then he heard a knock on the door. He groaned as he got up. Once the door opened, it revealed Lucy.

    "I haven't seen Nash. Is she okay?"

    "Yeah, she's spending the night at Gray's. I feel like Nashi likes Juvia more than me, anyway. She's all right."

    "That's good to hear." She looked up at him, and he looked down at her. He didn't know if he should kiss her.

    "Well, uh, goodnight," he stuttered out.

    "Goodnight." She then walked away and Natsu sighed. He couldn't love her again; it'd be a mistake.

    He laid in bed, his thoughts making him drowsy. He closed his eyes.

     He couldn't love her again.

     He couldn't love her again.

     Because he never stopped loving her.   
  
  
  
  
  


**_-edited-_ **

**_well, here's an update. enjoy. i'm either going to update every thursday or every other thursday. bye, have a good day/night._ **


	6. Chapter Five

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ORIGINAL AT WATTPAD.COM/XXDARK_PASSENGERXX

Natsu moves the egg from the pan to the plate. He moved his lips to the lyrics of the song; not actually singing, but lip-syncing.

He was listening to Bring Me The Horizon's "Throne." It was a good song with catchy and meaningful lyrics. To Natsu, at least. Some would argue and say it didn't deserve to even be called music.

     This song and 'Can You Feel My Heart' were relatable to him, in his opinion.

He threw off the apron he was wearing and bright three plates of egg and bread to the table.

_"Every wound will shape me; every scar will build my throne."_

"You still listen to all that, don't you?" He turned around to see the blonde whom he loved. He smiled and chuckled.

"It's hard to stop."

Lucy looked around, and then to the table. "What's all this?" she asked as she motioned to the table. Natsu glanced back.

"I had time before I went to work, and I thought, 'Why not make breakfast?'"

She nodded her head and spun on her heels. "I'm going to go bring Nashi. Make sure you turn your music off."

She left the room and Natsu was going to what she said, but then he looked to the table. One of the eggs were too close to the right than all the other ones were. "There's no symmetry!" he whispered as he ran to it.

Soon after, Lucy came back with Nashi running in front of her. She questionably looked to Natsu. "Uh?" He looked up.

    He was on his knees as his eyes were right in front of the eggs.

Suddenly, not the best song came from his playlist. 'Antivist' began and he ran back to his phone.

_"Put your middle fingers up if you don't give a fu—"_

"Heh, oops," he nervously chuckled as Lucy rolled her eyes.

"Why is this not the first time?"

•

      "Bye, see you later, honey!"

    Natsu froze as he was half way out the door. He looked back at her and she smiled with a light pink colour covering her cheeks. "Y-Yeah, see you," he stuttered out as he shut the door behind him.

    He walked to the car, repeating the one word haunting him.

   "It's not as if only husbands and wives, girlfriends and boyfriends say it. Friends say it, too. But are we friends?" he asked himself as he drove down the road.

    "I swear, Luce," he muttered as he made a left turn, "You're going to be the death of me."

•

       "Nashi!" Lucy called out as Nashi wobbled her way in the living room. "Where does daddy keep the broom?" Nashi titled her as she brought her finger to her mouth.

     "I don't know."

     Lucy sighed. "You're a big girl now, you should start cleaning," she joked as she bent in front of Nashi, taking her fingers out of her mouth. "I told you to stop."

      Nashi giggled as she ran out the room. "I mean, it's not snooping if I want to help, right, Nashi?" she asked as she turns around, but was greeted with the wall. She pretended she got a response and walked to the kitchen.

"It's not snooping. I only want to repay him and this is the only way. It's not snooping!" she tried convincing herself. In the end, she sighed and muttered, "Screw it."

    She looked around, but couldn't find it. She groaned. "Where is the goddamn broom?"

     After she was done looking around the kitchen, she decided to look in the nearby closet.

     She opened it and found nothing but shoes, a few coats, and cleaning supplies. "He has everything but a broom!" Lucy exclaimed with a sigh.

She continued to look around. "I checked every inch of this house and I still can't find it!" she whined. She was too busy crying, she hadn't heard the front door open.

"Hey, I'm home—" he stopped immediately once he saw the blonde crying. He awkwardly walked to the bawling woman and sat beside her. As cliché it was, Natsu had no idea how to comfort crying women. Then again, who did?

 _Maybe if I give food.._ he thought as he shook his head.

"Um," he patted her head and she questionably looked up.

"Oh," she sniffed, "You're home." She rolled her eyes up to see his hand on her head. "Why...Why are you petting me?"

Natsu flinched and jerked his hand back. "Sorry, I just didn't to come home to a crying Lucy."

"Why is this not the first time?" She rolled her eyes and shifted comfortably on the couch. She laid down with her legs in Natsu's lap.

"That's the second time you've said that—Nashi!" He immediately stood up once he saw his child wobbling her way through the room. Lucy legs fell and she playfully glared at her child.

"Daddy!" she called out and Natsu lifted her in the air. He spun her around in the air and she giggled. Once he stopped, he kissed her nose gently, then gave a sloppy kiss on her cheek. She gave a disgusted face and wiped her nose.

"What, do you want me kissing you like mama used to kissed me?" he asked as she continued rubbing her nose, not her cheek.

Lucy stared in awe at the two. How was she ever so dumb to leave them— to leave this behind?

Without knowing, she muttered, "I'm sorry."

Natsu looked to her and smiled. "Look! Say hi to mama!" He gave Nashi to Lucy. "And get your fingers out of your mouth, baby. You're too old!"

Nashi did as she was told. She waved her hand and but her bottom lip. "Hi mama!" Lucy giggled and tickled the pink-haired child.

"I'm starving!" Natsu said as he plopped on the couch beside Lucy. He then looked to her. "Take-out?"

She nodded her head and he gave a toothy grin as he took out his phone and dialled a number.

"Yo, ice princess! Do you think you can give free food?" he asked. Gray worked at a chinese food place as a part-time job. He still studied at university.

"What do you mean you can't? Just take it out of your pay check!" Lucy lightly slapped his arm.

She took the phone out of his hands. "Can you get us a—" she stopped once Gray began asking what she was still doing at Natsu's house. She pushed Natsu's phone in his chest. "You deal with it."

Confused, Natsu shrugged and ordered. He hung up. "It'll take twenty to thirty minutes. That gives us enough time to watch an episode of any show on Netflix. What do you want to watch?" he asked as she shrugged.

    They took twenty minutes before finally deciding on a show. When they checked if it was on Netflix, it wasn't. "What the hell? Why are they taking everything off? Americans hogging everything," he joked as he slouched in his seat.

   Lucy furrowed her eyebrows and raised a finger. "I don't think that's how it works."

    "Fine! The people who control Canada's Netflix can suck my—"

_ding dong._

"That's exactly what they can suck." He hopped out of his seat. He answered the door and got their food. "Here." He gave her her food and began eating. They gave Nashi the non-spicy stuff; little bites of chopped up noodles.

Natsu looked at the time and sighed. "Hey, baby girl," he called to Nashi. "It's time for bed. Come on." He lifted her up and grunted. "Ah! You're getting pretty heavy...just like Luce." Lucy gasped and lightly hit the back of his head.

He smiled and walked to Nashi's bed and laid her down. He walked back to the living room.

"So, uh," he started as he looked around. "I'm going to bed too, I guess. Goodnight. You can watch TV or do whatever."

"All right, goodnight." They smiled and stared at each other for a bit.

"Oh, right! Goodnight," Natsu nervously said as he scrambled back to his room.

Lucy smiled wider, but sadder. "Why is that not the first time?"  
  
  
  
  


**_-edited-_**    
  


**_i realized a few things can be easily taken to offence, so i'm sorry. no offence is really intended._ **

**_sorry for the long wait and short update._ **

**_enjoyyy._ **


	7. Chapter Six

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ORIGINAL AT WATTPAD.COM/XXDARK_PASSENGERXX

"Why're you still here?"

Lucy's eyes shot open as she stared at the dark blue eyes two centimetres away from her face.

"What the f—" she sat up, accidentally hitting her forehead against Gray's. She backed up to the headboard, pulling the blanket up to her chin. "Why're  _you_ here?"

"What do you mean? This is like me second home. As for you," he glared at her, "It should be forbidden."

Lucy rolled her eyes, "I'm here because I figured out my mistake and I'm here to make it right."

"Why haven't you then?"

"Things like this take time."

Gray shook his head. Lucy stared at him in confusion. "It's because Natsu's smart this time. He doesn't make the same mistake twice. I advise you to leave. Now."

Lucy sighed as she got out of bed, lightly pushing Gray out of her way. "Is Natsu gone to work?"

Gray groaned in frustration as he put his hands to his hair, almost pulling it all out. "Why won't you just leave him alone? He's been through enough."

Lucy walked out the door, him following behind. "Because you don't understand. I'm trying to make him happy again. I'm trying to not only get over my guilt, but fix this family. For him. For Nashi." Lucy lightly went down the stairs as Gray stomped his way down.

    "You're so annoying!" he mumbled under his breath. Lucy heard, but decided to ignore it. She needed a way to get on Gray's good side.

    "Where's Nashi?" she asked as she went in the kitchen and took out a bowl, a spoon, milk, and cereal.

    "Sleeping," Gray replied as he, too, took out a bowl and spoon.

    Lucy eyed him as he walked to the table. "Haven't you eaten?"

    He shook his head and Lucy shrugged. She poured the milk in first, then the cereal. "Such a shame Natsu chose someone like you."

    Lucy had enough. She glared and looked up. "What?" she harshly asked.

    "Who puts milk in first?" he yelled out in desperation. Lucy's glare softened as she realized he wasn't necessarily talking about her.

    "That way, I know how not to overflow the milk...and to know how much cereal to put in," she said as she put some cereal in her bowl.

     "Tch." Gray shook his head in disapproval as he put the cereal in first. Lucy rolled her eyes again.

Once they finished, Lucy stood up and made her way to the sink. Before she could start the tap, she felt to hand on her back. "Okay, bye now," Gray said as he pushed her to the door.

"What is wrong with you?" Lucy asked she slightly stumbled foreword, both of them getting closer to the door.

As Gray was going to say something else, the front door opened. There stood a confused Natsu, his eyebrows furrowed together and his mouth slightly agape.

Gray sweat dropped as he thought of an excuse. "Natsu! You're back...early. Why?"

"It's Thursday, I don't have work," Natsu answers with an eyebrow raised. "Remember?"

"You don't?" Lucy asked as she freed herself from Natsu's grip.

Natsu shook his head. "But don't you have to work at the coffee shop on Thursdays?" Gray asked, pushing Lucy slightly behind him. She glared at him and stood another metre away from him.

"It ends at three. Do you really not remember?"

 _Was I really asleep for that long?_ Lucy wondered.  _Why didn't Gray eat before?_

     She shook the thoughts away as she realized she was confused. "You have two jobs?"

Natsu nodded. "Helps a lot." He then looked at Gray. "Now tell me why you were pushing Luce towards the door."

"We were going to go to the park! Yeah," he looked to Lucy, " _Right_?"

"No. He was trying to get me out of the house!" she said truthfully. Gray scoffed and looked away from her, his hands pushed in his pants' pockets.

"Tattletale," he murmured. Natsu stared at Gray. He knew Gray was trying to help, but there were better ways to handle this than to push his ex-wife out of the house.

"Gray, I told you it was fine." Natsu looked to Lucy, then to Gray. His face lit up as he got an idea. "We should all go out for dinner!"

"Huh?" Gray almost slapped himself to see if Natsu having the dumbest idea was true. He thought he was dreaming.

"Yeah! I could leave Nashi with Juvia; then you, Luce, and I could go out for dinner and get along!" Natsu was practically jumping up and down.

"Fine," Gray grumbled under his breath as he looked to the ground.

"Uh, sure?" Lucy answered as Natsu almost squealed.

"Be ready by seven!" he called out as he ran upstairs, skipping one of the steps on the staircase each time he jumped.

"He's like a child." Gray then looked to Lucy. "I'm not doing this to get to know you, I'm doing it because it made Natsu happy."

Lucy ignored him as she walked by him to go back to the kitchen to clean up the dishes. "You should call and let Juvia know," she suggested from the kitchen.

    As Lucy washed the dishes, she began thinking of this was really a good idea. Gray could make her look and seem worse.

     She shrugged off the idea and continued to wash the dishes.

•

     "Are we all ready to go?" Natsu eagerly asked the two. Gray scoffed silently as he had his hands shoved in his pants, which he was surprisingly wearing.

Lucy smiled and nodded her head. Natsu gave a toothy grin as he yanked the door open and hopped out.

He ran in the driver's seat and started the car as Lucy and Gray walked out the house.

Lucy was about to sit beside Natsu, but Gray had walked a bit faster to make sure she didn't sit in the shotgun seat.

Lucy rolled her eyes and got in the back.

"I call aux cord!" Natsu yelled as he grabbed the wire out of Gray's hand.

Gray groaned. "But your music taste is terrible!" he whined as Natsu stuck out his tongue.

"Driver picks the music; shotgun shuts his pie hole." Natsu mischievously grinned. "I'll play something laid back. Something you'd probably know." He connected the wire and played 'Spirit In Black' by Slayer.

Natsu reversed out of the driveway and bwgins driving down the road. "The Supernatural reference wasn't needed," Gray muttered under his breath.

Natsu scoffed as gave a quick glare at Gray. "Of course it was needed. Shut up."

The entire ride, the two bickered as Lucy sat quietly at the back. She didn't want to interrupt their moment; so she decided to keep her mouth shut.

"Keep your eyes on the road, Flame-Brain!" Gray yelled.

Natsu glared at the road since he couldn't look at Gray. "My eyes are on the road! Where else would they be at, stripper?"

Gray was going to call out another insult, but Natsu had spoken over him with a large grin. "We're here!"

He entered the parking lot and parked in one of the spots. He yanked his keys out and jumped out the door as Lucy and Gray took their time.

"Oh, right," Gray spoke as he looked to Lucy, "You're here."

Lucy rolled her eyes and began walking towards the building, Natsu following behind. "Isn't this place great?" He had on a white polo shirt with no tie and a black coat.

"Looks fancy." Lucy wore a purple dress that flowed down to her feet.

"The food better be good," Gray called out as he caught up with the two. He  _was_  wearing a white shirt and black coat, too; just like Natsu, but he had lost his black coat somewhere.

    The three walked in the restaurant. Natsu spoke to the reception lady. Meanwhile, Gray kept giving Lucy dirty looks. She tried her best to ignore them, but after a bit, she grew tired of it.

     She threw him a glare, but his face softened as if he hadn't done anything. The same moment she gave him the glare, Natsu had turned around, making her look like the bad person.

    Lucy looked to Natsu and gave him a nervous laugh. He sighed and followed the reception lady as she went for a table. Gray stuck his tongue out and began walking. Lucy followed close behind.

    "Well, isn't this awesome? Look at the fishes!" Natsu exclaimed as he pointed to the fish tank. "They're so huge and colourful!"

     Lucy nodded and Gray snickered. Natsu glared at Gray as he glared back. Lucy awkwardly coughed. Natsu looked to her and stopped.

    "Hello, I'll be your waiter for tonight. Are you ready to order?" a waiter asked.

     Gray squinted his eyes at the man. "We didn't get menus."

    The waiter's mouth went slightly agape as he apologized. He handed them three menus and left, giving them some time to think.

    "This looks tasty...but this does too! Aw, I'm getting both! What about you two?" Natsu asked as he closed his menu.

    "Maybe a snake. I wanna gift one to Lucy. She'll finally meet her kind." Gray innocently smiled. Lucy directed her gaze somewhere else as she stayed silent. "Ow!" Gray laid his upper body on the table as his hand went under.

     Lucy assumed Natsu had kicked Gray judging from the looks on their faces.

    The waiter soon came back and took their orders. As they waited, the three stayed silent.

     Lucy was too afraid to speak up, thinking she might screw everything up; Gray not wanting to get another kick to the shin; and Natsu wanting to see how this would play out.

     Soon, the food came and Natsu began eating right away. Gray smirked and decided to mess with Lucy. He rubbed his foot against Lucy's leg. She moved her leg and put her foot on his, lightly, since she was wearing heels.

    Gray almost screamed from the pain. He decided he had enough fun, and was now hungry.

    Lucy began eating her food as well. She tried to eat quicker than she usually did, because when she looked at Natsu's and Gray's plate, she thought they'd have to wait for her.

    In the end, they had to wait a couple of minutes. Natsu didn't mind though. As for Gray, he thought they should just tell her to hustle.

     Natsu paid the bill and the three got up. Gray had offered to pay, but Natsu insisted. Lucy offered too, but was met with the same response as Gray.

    The ride back was silent too, until Natsu decided to speak up. "That was a huge fail."

   Gray shook his head. "Nah, it wasn't that bad."

    "It was terrible and you know it!"

     Lucy stayed silent as the two began bickering. She laid her head against the door as her eyes closed. She was too tired to think of anything else but sleep.

    Natsu dropped Gray off at his house. He reminded him to take care of Nashi and to feed her. Gray nodded and left.

    Juvia insisted for Nashi to stay the night because she loved Nashi. She said Nashi was adorable and was fun company.

    Natsu had agreed, knowing Juvia would take good care of Nashi.

    When Natsu arrived to his house, he found Lucy asleep. He sighed and smiled as he picked her up and locked the doors.

   He put the key in the lock and got in. He didn't bother taking off his shoes; instead, he went straight to the guest room. He took off her jewelry and heels and laid her in the bed.

   He smiled again and left the room. It sure had been a long day for him.

 

**_-edited-_ **

**_this chapter seems rushed to me._ **  
**_sorry for the very long wait._ **  
**_things were pretty complicated, but now they're solved, so yeah.._ **  
**_hope you enjoyed the chapter! bye!_ **


	8. Chapter Seven

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ORIGINAL AT WATTPAD.COM/XXDARK_PASSENGERXX

**third pov**

****"Thank you for watching Nashi for us."  
Lucy smiled as Juvia gave the baby to the blonde.

"No problem! She's so fun to have. She's welcome anytime." Juvia checked the time with the clock behind Lucy. "Ah, I better get going. Hopefully, I'll see you around."

The two bid farewell and Lucy walked in. "Do you think your father hates me?" Lucy asked Nashi as she sat down on the couch, her child in her lap as she held Nashi with Lucy's hands in her armpits.

"No hate." Though Nashi was three years old already, she had a hard time speaking, which really concerned Lucy. Natsu had said she refused to talk without Lucy there.

In the end, he had managed to get Nashi to speak, but it was still slow.

    "So, do you think he loves me?" she asked in a hushed voice.

    Nashi gave a bright smile to her mother. "Always saying he loves you." Lucy smiled back.

    Joy had filled her body as a tear threatened to fall down her cheek. "Really?" Nashi nodded her head and Lucy laughed. "You're an amazing baby. I love you."

    "You too." Nashi then began to fall into a deep slumber as Lucy tried her best not to move.

Lucy herself then fell asleep.

A couple hours later, the front door opened and closed. Lucy hadn't noticed the footsteps approaching the sofa.

Subconsciously, she muttered Natsu's name in her sleep.

The man that had walked in slightly blushed. He shook it off and walked to the baby. She began to stir and lightly cry.

"Sh, sh. Daddy'll be home soon. What does he call you? Baby girl?"

Hearing the voice and nickname she was familiar to, she fell right back asleep.

The black-haired man sighed in relief and walked to the Nashi's room. He placed her on her bed, making sure there was no way she could fall off.

The door opened again. This time, it revealed a tired pinkette waking directly into the kitchen, not bothering to take off his shoes.

He poured himself a glass of water and then slipped off his shoes.

He yawned as he walked in the living room, noticing Nashi's bedroom door was opened. He walked to it and saw his older brother tucking his daughter in.

Natsu smiled. "Long time, no see, Zeref."

The older sibling turned around and smiled back. "How you doing?"

"All right. You?" Natsu answered as he walked to the sleeping baby, giving her a kiss on her forehead.

"I've been great. Just thought I should check up again." Zeref then hesitantly said, "I didn't know Lucy was here."

Natsu shrugged, not really knowing what to say. He didn't why he let her stay. "She said she wanted to make things right. I guess I let her because I wanted her to. I mean, that's part of the reason, I think. She's here to see her daughter— but I wouldn't mind if we got back together. Wait, I meant to say—"

"Natsu," Zeref cut him off as they walked out the room and sat on the bed in Natsu's room. "Shut up."

"I'm sorry, it's just...I need your help," Natsu admitted as he sighed.

"Exactly why I'm here."

Natsu looked at him confusingly. "But you said you didn't know Lucy was even—"

"The past doesn't matter!" Zeref exclaimed. He laid on Natsu's bed and made himself at home.

"So it doesn't matter if Lucy cheated? It'd be all right to be with her again?"

Zeref's eyes shoot open at his mistake. He didn't mean to give his younger brother that kind of message.

"Well," he didn't know how to say it. He honestly didn't want Natsu back with the blonde. He just wanted Natsu happy, and if this was the way, then he'd let it. "I guess. If she's really changed, that is." He looked up at his younger sibling, who was grinning like an idiot.

     "Thank you. I really feel like she can make things right," Natsu mumbled as he laid on the other side.

    Zeref turned his head to the right to see Natsu fast asleep.

    He sighed and sat up. "Sweet dreams, kid."

•

Natsu awoke to the sound of a wooden spoon banging against a pan. He groaned as he sat up, rubbing his left eye.

Zeref walked in with a smile that reached his ears. In his hands, he held the source of the noise. He looked to Natsu and grinned wider, if it was possible.

"Rise and shine, Natsu!" Zeref continued to bang the two objects together.

"Shut up!" he mumbled as he laid back down. With his eyes closed, he reached his arm out the nightstand, in hopes of finding his phone. He succeeded in doing so, and checked the time. "What the hell?"

Zeref tilted his head in confusion. "What?"

Natsu angrily sat up as he glared at black-haired male. "It's only two in the morning! Why are you waking me up?" Natsu's face dropped as he scrambled out of bed. "What if you woke up Nashi."

The doorway was blocked by Zeref. Natsu groaned. "Relax, she's still sleeping." He then muttered, "Or else she'd be crying."

Natsu's eye twitched as he tried moving his brother out of the way. Zeref let go of the pan and spoon, causing Natsu to groan and glare because of the loud sound.

Zeref picked Natsu up and threw him over his shoulder. "What the fu—"

Zeref cut Natsu off with his laughing. Ignoring Natsu's protests, fists hitting his back, and Natsu kicking his thighs; Zeref smiled and walked out of the room.

"What are you doing now? Let go of me! I'm a grown man— I'm 28! You can't just pick me up!" Zeref continued to ignore him as he made his way into the kitchen. He dropped Natsu on the floor and sat on one of the chairs at the table. "What the hell, dude?" Natsu yelled as he got up from the floor and sat on the chair across from Zeref's.

"I feel like you deserve a drink." Zeref showed Natsu a bottle of wine that he had under the table. "I was going to bring something more alcoholic, but I couldn't find anything in your house. So, I went to the nearest L.C.B.O." Zeref smiled and Natsu stared at him, his mouth agape.

"I don't drink, Zeref."

"You should start then!" Zeref poured Natsu and himself a glass of wine.

  Natsu looked at Zeref with a look of disbelief.  "Are you trying to make me an alcoholic?" Realizing his mistake, again, Zeref spit out a sip he took from the wine, it landing on Natsu face. "Did you have to take such a big sip?" Natsu whispered as he got up and walked to the napkins, wiping his face.

"You put words in my mouth!" Zeref accused. Natsu sighed.

"I'm surprised you haven't woken anyone up."

"That's not completely true." Natsu whipped his head around and saw Lucy staring at the two. Before Natsu could ask how long she's been awake, she answered. "I've been up since the pan and spoon noises."

    Natsu sighed. "Well, you guys enjoy whatever you want to do; I'm going to bed. Night." He walked away and into the bedroom.

    "Look," Lucy turned to Zeref so he could listen better, "I know you don't want me and Natsu together—"

    "Who said that?" Zeref smiled.

    Lucy smiled back and said, "You did, actually."

    "Way to ruin the moment," he mumbled with a groan. He got up and walked to his room.

 

**-** **_edited-_ **  
  
  
  


**_sorry for the very late and short update :/ enjoyyy_ **


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WATTPAD.COM/XXDARK_PASSENGERXX

**third pov**

****"Morning!" Natsu barges into the guest room Lucy was staying at. He held a tray filled with food in his hands and some flowers in the other as he held the door open with his elbow.

Groaning, Lucy sat up and checked the time. "It's only eight in the morning," she mumbled.

Natsu made a confused face.  _Only...?_

The blonde yawned and her attention fell to the tray in her ex-husband's hands. "Aren't I supposed to be the one trying to get you back?"

Natsu wanted to say there was no need. That she already had him, but he wanted to see if she really was wanting her family back and how hard she was going to try.

"Well," he walked up to the bed and sat on it, "I just wanted to do something. After this, don't worry... I won't do it again." Lucy bitterly smiled and took the tray as he handed it to her.

"Yeah, whatever." She took a bite from the food and was amazed on how someone as perfect as Natsu could even exist.

    Guilt drowned her a million times over. She had to accept the fact she made a mistake. She had to accept that she was the one who wanted a divorce.

Natsu whistled loudly in front of her face. Her head jumped back a bit by surprise. "You okay?"

Lucy blinked and nervously laughed. "Oh, yeah. I'm great. Just... you're a good cook." She genuinely smiled. Natsu then stood up and stretched. Lucy frowned. "Are you going to leave?"

Natsu looked to her and grinned. "Nashi has a play date with Juvia's daughter."

"Oh." Lucy went back to eating her food as Natsu left through the door. She waited a couple minutes for his return. Eventually, he did.

   Natsu walked into the room, with Nashi on his hips and hands wrapped around her legs. "I'm going to go drop her off. 'Kay?" he asked.

    Lucy giggled and nodded. "Yeah, all right. Don't you think Nashi's a bit too old to be picked up?"

    Natsu gasped and Nashi shook her head furiously. "Never!" Nashi yelled while tightening her grip on her father shoulders.

    Lucy playfully rolled her eyes. Natsu waved. "I'm gonna drop her off. See you in a bit!"

He closed the door with a toothy grin. Lucy felt her heart's pace quicken when he did so. She loved his grin. She loved him.

•

"I'm back!" Natsu yelled as he slammed the door shut. "Luce?"

He walked into the living room and saw Lucy putting a CD into the DVD player. She looked to him and faintly smiled.

"I was going to set up a movie date night thing." She picked up the remote and walked to the sofa, sitting on it and patting the seat beside her.

Natsu sat where she had patted and took the remote from her. She whined and asked to give it back, but he refused to. "No, you're terrible at controlling the volume."

In the end, she gave up. Natsu closed the lights, grabbed the popcorn, and played the movie.

    The two awkwardly sat on the couch. Lucy on one end and Natsu on the other. There was an entire gap between the two.

    Lucy remembered how she loved Natsu's arm over her shoulder, and how when a scary scene came up, she'd be startled and would throw her popcorn in the air, it landing on Natsu.

    She cleared her throat, trying to hint at Natsu. Natsu looked to her curiously. "Do you need water?"

    She gawked at his stupidity.

      _Maybe he avoided the hint on purpose._

"No, I'm good." Lucy pulled the blanket up her knees. She glanced at Natsu who continued watching the movie.

    She began thinking of ways to get him closer. She gasped as she got an absolute idea. There was no way it could fail...or so she thought.

    Natsu just had to be Natsu.

    "Natsu, I'm scared."

    He looked to her. "Already? The movie barely even started yet."

     Lucy glared in the opposite direction. She then looked back to Natsu. "The name's scary. I've got goosebumps."

"Do you want a thicker blanket?"

Lucy tried her best to refrain from screaming what she meant. "No."

    "Oh," Natsu looked to the screen of the T.V. "Do you want to switch the movie?"

    Flabbergasted, she sighed. She did this to herself.

    "No, I just," she took a deep breath. "Nevermind," she grumbled.

      _Women..._ Natsu wondered how they could be so complicated. What kind of test was this?

    Natsu began stressing out over the possibilities of him failing the 'test'. What was he supposed to do? Was he supposed to get her water even if she said no? Was he supposed to switch the movie?

    He slapped a hand on his face. "Oh my gosh!"

    Lucy glared at him. "Why're you so frustrated?"

   "How was I supposed to know about this test?" He glared back.

    Lucy angrily stood up, the blanket falling from her knees and to the floor. The popcorn scattered across the floor beneath her. "What test?"

    Natsu sat up straight. "I'm sorry I didn't get you water!" he yelled.

    "What the hell goes on in your mind?" She didn't even want to know. She was very confused, and she bet Natsu was too. How and why does he draw to conclusions like these?

    "What the heck goes on in  _your_ mind? I don't know and I try to figure it out, but I just can't!" Natsu threw his hands in the air. "Next time I swear I'll even go the store to buy some fancy water!"

    Lucy picked up a cushion and whipped it at him. "Would you forget about the water?"

    Natsu put his hand on his head where the pillow hit him. He then looked to her with a curious expression. "Then what is this all about?"

    "Nothing!" She fell back on the couch. "Absolutely nothing."

   Natsu shrugged. "If you say so." He began the movie again.

    Lucy decided to scoot over to him. If he wouldn't do it, she would. He was a bit dazed at first, but then smiled. He did what she had been desiring this whole time.

   He put an arm around her shoulders and she placed her head on his chest.

    It felt just like years ago.

    And it felt perfect.   
  
  
  
  


**_-edited-_ **  
  
  
  


**_so, so sorry for the month long wait. ever since school's started, i've literally had no time but occasionally writing four words at three am. this book is sadly on hold for a while. when i say 'hold', i mean it in a kind of different way. it means don't expect an update regularly, but don't think i won't try to be updating. does that make sense? oh well, hope you had a good day :)_ **


	10. Chapter Nine

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WATTPAD.COM/XXDARK_PASSENGERXX

**_some violence...:(_ **  
**______**

**third pov**

Lucy yawned and stretched her arms. What she didn't expect to touch was her ex-husband's firm jawline.

    She gasped as she looked up and saw Natsu's head dangling off the couch. She was laying in his lap.

     Embarrassed, she scrambled out of his lap and sat on the other side of the couch. Something she noticed was the change in Natsu's sleeping habits.

    He would usually snore, but now his mouth was silent and a bit agape.

     As she was noting the differences in her mind, a thought had occurred to her.

_What day is it?_

She was so caught up living with Natsu and her daughter again, she forgot about keeping track of the date.

    In hopes of finding her phone, she looked around, but to no avail. She looked over and saw Natsu's phone laying on the table beside the sofa. She hesitantly reached over and touched his phone.

    She jerked her hand back when he yawned. When she was sure her hadn't woken up, she reached for his phone again. Why was she so nervous? She was only checking the time. 

    She pressed the power button, but as soon as she did, she closed it again.

     _Maybe I could see a couple things..._

She got up and walked to the bathroom. The one place Natsu often hadn't - accidentally - walked in.

    She made sure to lock the doors. She pressed the power button on again and thought of what his passcode to be. It didn't take long because it was the same three years ago.

    Their wedding day.

    She typed the numbers '0523' and the phone unlocked. Her heart began to race and she regretted doing this.

    She clicked the photos' app and saw nothing too different. A couple photos of the sky, photos with friends, and most of of the pictures were Nashi.

     She decided to check his messages.

      _Maybe he actually went out with Lisanna._

She got a sigh of relief when she saw one of his messages weren't deleted. Why he never did so, she would never know. Except, probably to brag in people's faces that he had 128 GB.

    There were Gray, Zeref, some co-workers, and some other friends.

_I have no right to do this... but screw rights._

Lucy stopped at a name that seemed unfamiliar to her.

 _Who's_   _Minerva?_ Lucy wondered as she clicked the chat. It showed that the last time they talked was two weeks ago.

\-------  
_Hey Natsu_  
**hi...**  
**something you need?**  
_No, actually_  
_I was wondering if you wanted to hang out later today_  
**sorry, i'm busy :/**  
_Oh.._  
_Maybe tomorrow?_  
**you see, i'm busy for a long while**  
**probably until my souls reaches hell**  
**bye :)**  
_Wait!! Natsu!!_  
\-----------

"Luce?" Natsu's tired voice called from the other side of the door. Lucy slightly jumped and backed into the wall. "Are you in there?"

     She coughed. "Yeah, actually. Occupied."

"Oh," there was a small pause before he asked, "Do you know where I put my phone?"

Lucy's face flushed. She was hella glad he was on the other side of the door. "Uh, no? Check between the cushions." Lucy checked the date. "Don't you have work on Sundays?"

    He chuckled and Lucy swore she melted. "Nah. The one day I could lay in my underwear all day." Again, there was a pause. "I'm kidding, I... I actually wear pants. Nashi would be scarred."

    Lucy nodded as she looked at the door. "Well, uh, if you don't mind, I wanna finish my business."

    "Business? Are you doing something?"

     "Natsu?"

     "Hm?"

     "Just leave."

      Without saying a word, Natsu left.

      _I'm not dumb.._ he thought.  _I could've helped with her business. Did she go back to college? Why is she doing her business in the bathroom?_

_•_

"And the princess returns from her  _business_." Sitting up straight, Natsu glared at Lucy.

"You're just idiotic," she retorted as she headed into the kitchen with Natsu following closely behind her.

"Sure, whatever you say." Natsu rolls his eyes as he gets a pan, some eggs, and bread out. "I'm making french toast."

Lucy nodded and sat on the table. There was a silence, but neither minded. It was comfortable and probably needed.

    Natsu decided to break the ice. "I still can't find my phone. I looked under the sofa, between the cushions,– hell, I even looked in Nashi's room!" He put some finished french toast in a plate and walked to the table. "I swear it was either in my pocket or on the table."

     Lucy sweat-dropped and began to mentally freak out. What was she supposed to say? Sighing, she decided to confess.

    "Natsu, I—"

     Natsu snapped his fingers as he stood up again. "I totally forgot to check the laundry room!" He spun on his heels and ran out the kitchen.

    Lucy sighed of relief this time, and got up as well. She ran to the living room and bent down, putting the phone under the sofa.

     "I'm so dumb," she whispered. Lucy heard some footsteps becoming louder, so she quickly ran back to the kitchen and acted as if she never left.

     Natsu walked in and through his hand in the air and his lips kissing his teeth, causing his mouth to be in a straight line.

     "I actually feel like I'm losing my eff-ing mind!" he yelled. "Not only that, but Gray thinks he can say whatever the frick he wants when wants to. That ice-princess is so gonna get it when I find my phone."

"Did he call the home phone? she asked. He nodded and Lucy tried calling him down. "Maybe I could call your phone?"

Natsu shrugged, not certain the plan was going to work. "My phone's on silent, but you can try."

Lucy smiled, glad he wasn't furious anymore. Lucy whipped out her phone, only... there was a small problem.

Lucy gulped at the look Natsu gave her. "Um, well, uh... isn't this a silly situation?" She nervously laughed and Natsu continued to stare at her. "I swear, this isn't what it looks like!"

"Why the hell is my phone in your hands?" Lucy flinched at his tone and forgot why she shouldn't ever mess with him. Everyone had their scary side, and Natsu never really showed it; that's why it was twice as scary when he did.

"You know," Lucy continued laughing, "You remind me of Erza."

 _Isn't this fantastic?_ Lucy sarcastically asked herself.  _This is the_ perfect  _way of making him your husband again._

"Just," Natsu sighed, not really wanting to be mad at the moment, "Just give the damn thing back."

With no hesitation, Lucy threw the phone at him, but there were two problems; one, she threw it out the kitchen; two, Natsu's hands were on his head.

"Luce, I swear to god," he muttered as he walked out the kitchen. This tone was more playful.

 _Damn..._ Lucy had to admit, he was very scary when mad, but somehow, the dangerous tone on his was pretty hot.

"Luce, I freakin' swear to god!" he repeated, a bit louder than last time. Also, it seemed a bit angrier.

Slamming her face on the table, she groaned. She knew as soon as the phone left her hand, it was going to be cracked.

"What happened to it, Natsu?" she asked as she got up and walked out the kitchen as well.

"What the hell do you think?" He turned around.

Lucy frowned. "Look, I'm sorry, it was an honest mistake—"

He didn't bother hearing her out. He didn't want to punch a wall or yell at her. He wasn't even that mad at her taking for taking his phone; it was because of Gray. Gray said Lucy took his phone, which he denied. Gray said things he shouldn't have; and because of this, he was angry and could snap at anyone, which he wanted to avoid.

He didn't want to make her feel bad, but he knew if he opened his mouth, something about the divorce was going to slip; and both of them would be angry at themselves.

He didn't know what to do, so he grabbed his keys and sat in the car. Not knowing where to go, he drove. He drove down the roads and away from his problems.

A habit he seemed to think he did a lot.

•

Lucy wondered what was on the phone that made him so angry. Maybe there were photos he lost?

"Why am I so stupid?" she screamed to herself as she flopped on the sofa.

Nashi came running in, clapping her hands together with a smile that was a replica of her father's, and eyes that matched her mother's.

When she saw her mother stressed, Nashi tried climbing the sofa to touch her mother's face.

    Failing to do so, she fell on her butt. She tried her best not to cry, but there were so many things that made her upset; her mother was crying, she fell, her father wasn't in sight, and she couldn't make her mother happy.

     Lucy's body shot up when she heard the sniffles she knew all too well. "Nashi?" she called out. 

    "Don't cry, momma."

      Lucy softly smiled. "You're adorable, baby." She picked Nashi up and kissed her nose. "I love you."

     Nashi nodded and giggled. "Me too."

      Lucy wished it was as easy to be happy as a baby. One minute they're crying, the next they're laughing their arse off.

      They forgive and forget so easily.

     Lucy then heard the front door slam. "Natsu, I swear to god, if you ignore any more of my calls and hang up again, I'm gonna f—"

     Gray looked up and stopped mid-sentence. His eyes scanned the room and failed to find a pinkette.

    "Natsu left for a bit," Lucy explained, noticing his confusion.

    "Where'd he go? I wasn't done with him! You know what he did?" He walked up to Lucy, only a couple inches away from her face.

    "Um—"

     "He hung up! The nerve of the idiot! Who does he even think he is?"

    As Gray rambled, Lucy couldn't help but ask, "Why are you two arguing?"

     Gray flopped onto the sofa. "I knocked some sense into him."

     "Like hell you did!" Natsu roared as he walked to the sofa. Lucy wondered how he just managed to show up.

    "Oh, hi Natsu." Lucy let Nashi down and Nashi ran to her room, probably to take a nap.

    "I gave logical facts, you decided to deny them until now!" Gray got up and stood inches from his face, as he did with Lucy before.

    "Logical facts?" Natsu sarcastically laughed and pushed Gray. "Logical facts my a—"

     "See? Denial! Grow the hell up, Natsu!" Gray shoved Natsu farther.

    Lucy's face flushed. She didn't know what to do. "Hey, I'm... I'm sure we could—"

     "Shut the hell up! This argument is all because of you!"

     "Don't yell at her!" Natsu punched Gray on his face.

    Lucy put a hand to her mouth. Sure, they always playfully sparred, but this was a full on fight.

     Gray got up and wiped his bloody nose. "Before she came, everything was fine!"

     They continued fighting. Natsu's glare hardened. "Sorry you couldn't see how freaking depressed I was!"

    And with one more punch, one was passed out.   
  
  


**-** **_edited_ ** **-**

   **next chapter will be happier, i swear. sorry about this... everything'll be explained next chapter.**


	11. Chapter Ten

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WATTPAD.COM/XXDARK_PASSENGERXX

**third pov**

     "So," Lucy asked. "Why'd you fight?"

   Pointing his finger, Natsu accused Gray. "He was being a dumb butt." Lucy raised an eyebrow, asking him to explain more. "He said things he shouldn't have."

Gray put a fist up in front of Natsu's face. "You're just too blind!"

Lucy shushed Gray and asked Natsu what Gray had said.

"He said you never belonged here and that you're a," Natsu didn't want to continue. He didn't like the words used to describe his ex-wife.

    Lucy played with her fingers. Though she didn't know what he was going to say, she had an idea; but she wanted to make sure it was true.  "What'd he call me?" Lucy asked in a low, dry voice. She hoped she was wrong with what he was thinking.

   Natsu stares at her. He stared into her eyes. He couldn't repeat what was said. Not to his ex-wife. He didn't dare to open his mouth.

"I called you a slut. Are you happy now?" Gray asked with his arms crossed by his chest as he leaned back on the couch.

Natsu quickly chimed in while giving a nervous laugh, "Which I'm sure he didn't mean—"

"Oh, I meant it."

"I bet you don't even  _know_  what it means."

"Shut up you two!" Lucy interrupted. She couldn't care less what Gray called her. What surprised her was how much defence Natsu was giving her. He'd fight his best friend for her; she didn't deserve it.

Gray sighed. He was tired of this entire situation. Whatever Natsu wanted to do, he could do. "Why don't you two just get married again?"

Gray wasn't very good at expressing himself or explaining what he was thinking. That was certain; but he had good intentions. Words just weren't his thing.

     Natsu glared at Gray. It was as if Gray said what was meant to be left unspoken. The two waited for either to speak. When none did, Gray stood up.

     "Look, I'm sorry, okay? I just don't want you getting hurt again. If you feel like this is the best decision for you, then do it," he concluded. Looking to Lucy, he apologized, "I'm sorry for saying things I shouldn't have."

 ****Natsu tried not smiling. He was happy Gray finally accepted Lucy. It was nice to get your friend's approval.

"Thanks, Gray." Lucy smiled as she and Gray hugged. Natsu gave up on his restraint of smiling. He grinned so wide, his grin reached his ears. He was beyond happy. He got his wife and best friend back.

    "Group hug!" he yelled as he put his arms around Gray and Lucy, squeezing the hell out of them.

    Lucy patted Natsu's back, as if she was trying to tell him something. "Stop," a muffled voice called.

     Though it was hard to hear, Natsu got an idea of what was said. He let go of the two.

     "I've got to go back now. Juvia's probably waiting. See ya."

    He waved and left though the door.

    "Well, that was —"

     She couldn't finish her sentence as Natsu wasted no time in getting his lips on hers.

     He wanted to make up for the time that was lost between them.

     Lucy wasted no time in returning the kiss. She felt him smile, as she gave one back. She wrapped her hands around his neck as his were on both sides of her cheeks.

    Natsu parted. He caressed her thumb over her cheek. "I love you."

    Lucy felt his breath on her lips. At that moment, she swore she almost lost it. A tear flowed down her cheek. She was happy she fixed most of the damage done.

    She broke Natsu's heart. Without realizing, she broke her own, too. There would always be a crack in his heart now. Not everything will be the same between them, but things would kind of go back to normal.

      It would be very awkward for the first couple of days, but hopefully, it'll get better.

     When they say you don't realize what you have until it's gone, they were right. Lucy always thought she did the right thing. A few weeks ago, she realized she was wrong.

     "I love you, too."

**•**

    "Is this the last of it?" Natsu asked as he placed one last box in their living room. They had finished bringing all of Lucy's things back in. As soon as they said they loved each other, Natsu wasted no time in bringing Lucy back in entirely. There were no doubts he had about Lucy. He just felt like she would stay this time.

     Lucy didn't understand Natsu. He was too nice. When she was younger, she had followed by the quote, "If you give someone a second chance, you're giving them a second time to shoot 'cause they missed you the first time." Why had Natsu forgiven her so quickly in just a week?

      "Luce?" Natsu called out. He looked a bit tired from carrying all the boxes, but he was fine enough to not fall asleep on anyone.

    "Hm? Oh, yeah. That's all of it." Lucy smiled a she saw Natsu carry a box with her clothes from the living room to their room. Lucy was glad he still wore muscle tanks. She admired his backside as he walked away.

      Nashi waddled her way in while clapping her hands. "Momma!"

     "Oh, my little ray of sunshine." Lucy picked her daughter up and kissed her nose. "You keep everyone happy, don't you?"

     Not understanding what she meant, Nashi tilted her head, furrowing her eyebrows. Lucy laughed and set the baby pinkette down. Nashi ran off to who knows where.

    "You look happier than before," Natsu stated, making his comment sound like a question a little.

     Lucy shrugged and wrapped her arms around Natsu, embracing him. "Who wouldn't be?"

     Natsu smiled as he gave her a quick kiss. "Come on, there's a lot of unpacking to do." He turned around and walked to their room.

     Lucy 's heart melted as she followed him.  _Our room._

\----

    "I want to sleep, Natsu."

    "No one's stopping you."

     "You actually are. I can't breathe," Lucy quickly said as she squirmed in Natsu's embrace. "Do you want me to die?"

     Natsu shook his head as he buried his face in Lucy's back. "Shh. I have work tomorrow and I'm tired."

     Lucy gave a sigh of defeat. She cursed under her breath. She understood Natsu missed her, she missed him too, but he was just hugging her a bit too tight. She gave another sigh, this time, a sigh of tiredness.

     As she closed her eyes, the doorbell rang. "What the hell?" she muttered. She looked to Natsu's face to see him peacefully sleeping. Trying her best not to wake him up, she picked his arms and put them to his side. One foot down and another, she walked to the door.

     It repeatedly rang. "Shut up," Lucy mumbled as she rubbed her eyes. Right before she opened the door, she took a quick glance in the mirror. Gasping, she tried fixing it. "Ew."

     She looked through the peephole. "Hello?" she angrily called out. No response. "F this crap." She opened the door and noticed a car in the driveway. It began reversing out of the driveway. "Hey!"

    It sped out of the driveway and was long gone. Lucy huffed as she crossed her arms, wondering who it was. It was some ding-dong ditch prank. The blonde wanted to run down the driveway and chase the car down. Yawning, she forgot everything and the only thing in her mind was sleep.

**_-edited-_ **

**_sorry it's so late and short!! i want one more cha_ ** **pter** **_out before january, and hopefully i will._ **

**_the previous chapter was just.. i don't know, i don't like it very much... but now, everyone's happy!_ **

**_hope you liked it :)_ **


	12. Chapter Eleven

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WATTPAD.COM/XXDARK_PASSENGERXX

**third pov**

"Are there any cameras in this house?" Lucy asked as she walked into the kitchen. Natsu paused his music and raised an eyebrow at her. "Or outside, maybe?"

Natsu shook his head. "No, we don't." He went back to making their breakfast. "Can I ask why?"

"The bell rang last night." Lucy yawned and sat at the table. "The car sped away as soon as I opened the door."

"Oh," Natsu placed a plate in front of Lucy. "Strange. Probably some teenage kids."

Lucy nodded in agreement. It had to be. Who else would it be? "Probably."

"I'm running late. I'll see you later." He smiled and gave her a quick kiss on her lips. He then ran out the door. Lucy's heart melted and she tried not screaming.

"See ya."

Without another word, he was out the door. Lucy decided to check on Nashi. Slowly opening the door, she peaked her head in and saw the baby pinkette sound asleep.

Lucy smiled and shut the door. She flopped on the sofa in the living room, wondering what she should now do with her life. A list of possibilities came to her mind.

Watch a movie, read a book, call someone, and etcetera.

Her eyebrows furrowed as she thought of another idea. It was either very intelligent or very dumb.

What if she got a job?

Lucy scoffed at herself. Why hadn't she gotten one before?

Suddenly, her days of when she  _did_  have a job ran through her mind. Her multiple jobs included her in riding a trolley and bumping into the stack of cans, pushing the cash register out of frustration, accidentally taking a thousand dollars out of someone's bank account, and fainting when she accidentally walked in on someone giving birth.

She shivered at the last memory. She had given birth before, but that seemed a lot different. Then again, she didn't see  _that_  part.

She shook her head and got up. "Today's the day, I, Lucy Heartfilia, get a job!" she cheered. Then, she heard some crying. "Today has 16 hours left," she mumbled as she made her way to Nashi's room.

"Nashi, it's-"

When she saw a shadowy figure outside the window, she stopped mid sentence.

"Please tell me this isn't going to be like Insidious," she plead in a whisper as she ran to her daughter. "No bruises," she noted as she looked at Nashi, who was still crying.

She picked her baby up and walked to the living room. She was very tempted to call Natsu, but she knew she shouldn't disturb him.

Nashi soon fell asleep again on the other side of the couch. Lucy sighed, wondering what she should do. Mixed feelings drowned her. Walking up to the window seemed like a good option, but he or she could have a gun. Calling the police would take too long.

"Damn it," she cursed. What should she do - What could she do? The figure didn't move. It just stared right back at her. Suddenly, a door slammed. The blonde turned around.

"Sorry!" Natsu voice yelled out as she heard him scramble around. "I forgot my wallet. Imagine if the police pulled me over and asked for my licence."

Lucy gave a sigh of relief as she stood by their bedroom's door frame. She heard Natsu curse as he looked under the bed and the bathroom. She was glad he came back. She was glad his wallet was home. Would it be a good time to tell him what she saw?

"I'm going to be so late," he muttered as he ran to the laundry basket on the other side of the room. He began checking his dirty pants' pockets.

Lucy came to a conclusion that now may not have been a good time to mention. She took a glance at the clock on the wall. His work started in fifteen minutes. There was no way he could get there on time.

"Are you all right?" Lucy snapped her eyes back to Natsu, whose face was closer than before. He seemed genuinely concerned. Lucy nodded. "You haven't said a word since I got home."

"You're going to be late, idiot." She pushed out of the room. "Maybe it's not even here. Check the living room or your car."

Natsu's thoughts became rushed and he couldn't think straight. He checked the sofa and found a wallet, but it wasn't his. "That stupid Stripper!"

Lucy watched as he got up and grabbed his keys from the counter. He also grabbed his phone and dialed a number, holding it to his ear. "What did he do?"

"That dumb arse took my wallet and left his here." He tapped his foot impatiently. "He has a three hour lecture right now, so I can't get it."

An idea popped into Lucy's head. "How about I drive you!"

Natsu furrowed his eyebrows and tilted his head a bit. "Didn't you fail your G twice so you gave up?"

Lucy sarcastically scoffed. "Pfft! I still have my G1, dumb-dumb." She went to their bedroom and she showed him her licence.

He examined it, before shaking his head. "Lucy, that expired... six years ago."

"Wait," Lucy's eyes widened as she took a look at it, "What?"

Natsu slapped his hand on his face, rubbing it down his cheek. How was he going to get to work? The bus would take around two hours. Maybe being an hour late at most wasn't that bad, but nothing more than that. It already took around thirty minutes to get there.

"What if you just drive without your licence? I mean, you're an excellent driver."

"And risk being caught? No thanks."

Lucy didn't admit it aloud, but she was glad Natsu didn't have a way to get to work. It meant he would have to stay home. It also meant the figure might not be back.

"What can you do?" Lucy cracked a small smile, which went unnoticed by Natsu, as he called his work.

Lucy decided to pick Nashi up and lay her in her crib, where she could be comfortable and sleep easily. She gave Nashi a peck before returning to the living room.

He walked to another room for some more privacy as he tried explaining his situation to his boss. His boss' yells were loud, and he was beyond mad, but then understood there was no good solution. His boss threatened him that if this ever happened again, he wouldn't hesitate to fire the pinkette.

Natsu waltzed back into the living room and loosened his tie. "It feels weird not being at work at this time."

Lucy shrugged as she took a small peak in Nashi's room, making sure she was okay. "A break is okay for someone like you."

Natsu gave a stressed sigh. He didn't want to deal with life at the moment. "Did you drop Nashi off at school?" Lucy's mouth went dry as she opened her mouth. No words came out. Natsu looked to her and noticed how pale she looked. "Are you sure you're feeling fine?"

"I-"

"Daddy!"

Both their heads snapped into the direction of their daughter's voice. Natsu gave a look to Lucy. She gave an apologetic look and he just ruffled her hair. Getting up, he made his way to the mini version of himself.

He picked her up and went into her bedroom to get her ready. Lucy sighed and laid back, falling on the couch. She cursed at her foolishness. How could she forget?

To be fair, she was too busy crapping her pants at the figure outside.

*

The two silently walked back home. They had just dropped Nashi off. "Sorry," Lucy whispered, not daring to look into his beautiful eyes.

Natsu gave a small laugh. "Why are you apologizing? Wanna know how many times I messed up?"

Lucy stayed silent, keeping her gaze on the floor. "It's different. Your mistakes are like, 'Oh my gosh, I put Nashi to sleep at 20:45 instead of 20:30!'"

Natsu ignored her impression of him. "Let's see," he looked at the sky, as if it would help him remember, "There was this one time where I left the front door open and she ran out naked. I had to chase her down, but she was so tiny, she managed to run between people's legs. I caught her fifteen minutes later."

Lucy stifled a laugh. Compared to his mistake, she didn't do much wrong. "Wow, Natsu.'

"It was an accident! I was going to give her a bath!" Natsu defended, smiling at his victory to make Lucy smile.

"You know how to cheer someone up, don't you?" she asked, but it was directed more to herself than to him.

Natsu just gave a cocky look. "What can I say? I do wonders."

Lucy rolled her eyes and slightly shoved him with her shoulder. The silence between the two left Lucy with her own thoughts. When would be the best time to tell him? It would be a lot better to tell him soon.

Her mouth opened to speak, but no words came out. They were caught in her throat again. Natsu took notice and grew concern. "Are you completely sure you're all right?" Lucy nodded. "Liar."

"Excuse me?" Lucy scoffed. She knew she was lying, but when he pointed it out, it brought more guilt to her.

Natsu shrugged a shoulder. "I know you're lying. You know you're lying. Wanna tell me what's up?"

"The sky."

"That's not what I meant."

"Fine!" Lucy became hesitant. He needed to know. "There was this... figure outside of Nashi's window. It scared me, terribly."

Natsu sighed and held her hand, giving some support. "What if I didn't come home? What if something happened to Nashi? Or you?"

"I know, but I didn't want to worry you."

Natsu shook his head, disagreeing with her reasoning. "Of course I would worry. I will always be worried about my two girls."

Lucy looked away with pink dusting her cheeks. Natsu smiled and held her hand in his. "Thank you, Natsu."

Natsu shrugged. "You shouldn't thank me."

"I love you," Lucy whispered. Looking up, she saw their house. She unlocked the door and walked in, hearing a faint voice behind her. She smiled.

"I love you, too."  
  
  
  
  
  


**_-edited-_ **

**_i realized how short the chapters were... so i'm trying to make them a little longer... but i like where i end off._ **

**_anyway, here. sorry for it being a little late. i'm probably not updating again until february. so, see you then. :)_ **


	13. Chapter Twelve

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WATTPAD.COM/XXDARK_PASSENGERXX

__

Lucy gave a loud sigh of relief as she flopped onto the couch. "That was a lot of walking. Get your wallet back as soon as possible."

     "Lucy," Natsu sat beside her with genuine concern, "We barely walked a kilometre."

     "That's a kilometre more than I usually walk," she joked as the two laughed. "What do you wanna do on your day off?"

     "It's not really a day off," Natsu mumbled, leaning back on the couch and closing his eyes.

     Lucy rolled her eyes at the pinkette. "Are you at work?" He hesitantly shook his head. "Then, it's a day off."

    "Whatever." He playfully rolled his eyes back at her and grabbed the T.V. remote from Lucy's hands.

    "Hey!" she cried out, reaching for the remote before giving up not even a minute later. "Oh, that's a lot of work."

    "You're so out of shape," Natsu muttered, switching the channel.

     "Excuse me," she sat up straight, staring Natsu dead in the eye, "My mouth works out every time I eat a Big Mac."

    Natsu clapped his hands and pointed a finger to Lucy. "Shane Dawson reference."

    Lucy shrugged, realizing she may have not been that original with her jokes. "Sure."

    Natsu nodded in approval. "I picked a good wife." And they both froze. Lucy awkwardly looked to the side while putting her hand up, trying to cover her face. "Um, look! It's... that show you said you watched as a child. No wonder you're so demonic," he whispered the last part quietly.

   "Teletubbies was a child's show! It was not creepy!" Lucy defended, taking some offence since he was the one who watched messed up shows as a child.

    "They're 10 feet tall!"

    "And?"

    "The sun's a demon baby!"

    "And?"

     "The theme song has an audio in it which controls and brainwashes children!" he screamed while crossing his arms over his chest. "What was so good about that show— What do they even do?"

    "You're the one who watched Happy Tree Friends when you were five! First it was your death music and then it was that bloody show! It was literally bloody!" Lucy threw her arms everywhere to emphasis her point. No way was the man in front of her was going to win.

    "It was entertainment and it was good!" He averted his attention back to the T.V. "This is why I don't let you watch shows with me. You're going to be horrified with all the gore scenes."

     Lucy pouted and looked away. She would like to think she won that argument, albeit she didn't get the last word. "Try me."

  "Not after last time." After a small silence between them, Natsu looked to Lucy, tilting his head. "Let's have a date night."

   "But—"

    "But what?" A smirk danced on his lips. Lucy wanted to punch the cockiness out of him. "I'll cook."

    "You've won my heart." Lucy put her hand to her chest, her mood changing suddenly. "Good job soldier."

     Natsu shook his head and ruffled her blonde hair.  Lucy noticed his green eyes boring into hers. It was a fierce gaze and she couldn't help but slightly shift in her seat, feeing intimidated. "Did you really stop loving me three years ago?"

    Lucy knew the question would come up one day, she just didn't expect it to come so soon. She didn't know if she was ready to have a conversation like this with him yet. "Of course not!"

    "Does that mean you still love your other man?" Lucy's face scrunched up in confusion and he noticed, so he decided to explain his scrambled thoughts. "You left me, but you still loved me; you left him, and I'm assuming you still love him."

    "No, I don't," she finally said, her tone becoming more desperate and quiet. She wanted to move on, but she realized that it may have been a bit more difficult than to just avoid it.

    "Is that what you told him when he asked if you still loved me?" Natsu continued staring into her eyes. Lucy never knew how he could always make eye contact in an intense conversation. It intimidated her. Oh, how she envied him.

    In all honesty, she spoke, "Yes, but I really do love you and I'm over him. I mean it." She scooted closer to him, laying her head on his chest as he wrapped an arm around her shoulders.

    "I believe you." He kissed her head and put on a show that they used to watched when they were together; which was 'The Chase.'

The door suddenly slammed open, a loud voice echoing though the house. The one voice that annoyed he hell out of Natsu. "And I've arrived!"

Natsu took a glance at the direction of the voice and glared at Gray once he walked into the room. "You stoke my wallet, Ice-Block."

The ravenette tossed it to Natsu, who caught with ease his free hand that wasn't around Lucy. "Your wallet was fun because you actually had money in! And credit cards!"

"You spent my money?" Natsu cried out, looking at Gray in horror. Dread filled his face. Gray noticed and laughed. Was it not obvious? It was basically free money.

"Of course I did! Only a little since I knew you were going to be upset!" The man laughed in Natsu's face.

    "What a friend!" Natsu rolled his eyes, proving his comment was filled with sarcasm. "Get your own money!"

Gray shook his head, crossed his arms, and stuck his tongue out at the pinkette, which caused the latter to roll his eyes again. "I only used, maybe... half a grand?"

"Oh my gosh." Natsu grind his teeth together, clenching his hands into fists. "I absolutely hate you."

"Your pay check's, like, a lot of money though!" the ravenette argued. It was true; Natsu had a good job that paid well.

    "Screw you," Natsu cursed as he stuck a certain finger at Gray. Natsu took a quick look at Lucy, whose attention was on the T.V., before glaring at Gray. "Can you leave my house now?"

     "Fine, I'm out, losers!" He waved and led himself out. The door slammed shut loudly. The couple swore they heard something break, but ignored it.

     Natsu sighed, laying his head on Lucy's shoulder. Putting her hand into his soft hair, she said nothing. She missed him, she missed this.

    "You know why Mark Labbett's nickname is The Beast?" he asked Lucy, who shook her head. "Because in French, la bête means 'The Beast.' Get it?"

Lucy nodded, not really knowing how to reply. "I didn't know that."

"Now you do." Natsu stood up and stretched his arms over his head. "You better be ready for our date night."

"Where are you doing?" she asked, her eyebrows furrowing in confusion. She was pretty comfortable and was enjoying watching the show with him.

"I've got things to do for tonight." He gave her a quick wink before running up the stairs and yelling, "Just be ready by 8!"

Lucy loudly sighed and sank deeper into the sofa. Hopefully, she will sink deep enough so she wouldn't be able to get out. It was an easy way of hiding yourself from life.

Whenever Natsu planned a date for the two, she was always terrified. He would do something either grand or something extremely strange. Once, he took her to a landfill and they played Hide & Seek. It was a weird night, but she enjoyed it still. 

Taking a look around, she sighed again. What was she supposed to do? There wasn't anything to do at the moment. There was still a bit less than an hour until Nashi was done with her kindergarten class, so that was out of question.

"I'll be back in two hours!" Natsu called out. His voice was distant, but she still heard him. She also heard some rustling by the front door.

"All right!" Lucy yelled back loudly. "I'll see you then!"

"Don't forget to pick up Nashi!" With those final words, she heard the door slam shut.

Now she had no idea what to do. Instead of doing something productive, like looking for a job or cooking something, she continued to watch T.V.

Then, she began thinking of how lazy she was. Why did Natsu even like her? She couldn't cook well, she can barely fold the laundry, she can't even wash laundry right!

     Lucy felt as if Natsu really did deserve someone better. Suddenly, she began feeling self-conscious about herself.

     A loud fist on the door made her snap out of her thoughts. She never really picked up the door since it was too much work and usually, people tried to sell her a phone plan or something.

    This time, however, she found herself on her feet, making her way to the door. "Hello?" she called it, peeping though the peephole. Her eyes scanned the porch, but she found no one standing on it.

     Hesitantly, her fingers unlocked the door and opened it. Her head tilted out, searching for the person who made her get up.

     "Lucy."

     The voice was familiar to her. It may have been faint, but she heard, though it could have just been her imagination. 

     "Sting?" she tested out. If he responded, she wasn't going crazy, but if he didn't, she might need a few hours of sleep.

    "So you remember me, Heartfilia?" His quiet voice rang though her ears. "Hm?"

    Lucy bitterly laughed as he made himself present. She wanted to punch him— yell at him to get off her property. She despised the cowardly man. "Oh, how could I ever forget?"

    "I ruined your life once, I can do it again," he threatened with narrow eyes. Now she was beginning to wish Natsu didn't leave. She wished that a lot, didn't she? Wanting Natsu by her side to protect her all the time.

    "True, but I fixed it. I know I sure as hell can fix it again." He glared at her, which she gladly returned back.

     "Our game's just getting started." He laughed, taking a step forward, which caused her to back up. "Those three years were just a warm-up."

    "What do you want?" Lucy hissed out at him. Finally, she had her life together and this blond freak had to come back and destroy what she rebuilt.

     The question caused him to pause for a moment. His hands were crossed behind his back. "Entertainment." A smirk deepened on his face.

    "Go somewhere else."

    Before she could slam the door right into his face, he stopped it with his hand. "You seemed pretty scared earlier today, didn't you?"

     Her eyes widened and her mouth fell agape. It was him by the window, giving her the Insidious vibes. "You're a monster."

    "You provoked me." He opened the door, so she could see the look he was giving her. "I never would have ruined your life if you hadn't been so dumb all those years ago."

    Lucy looked down, thinking about what he said. Did he mean the break up they had a month or two ago? "Listen—"

    "No," he interrupted. "You laughed at the note and ripped it up. You then kissed the idiot right in front of me."

    Lucy didn't remember doing anything like that, but then she remembered her time in high school. No one seemed to get the memo of her relationship with Natsu. Still, people would write their numbers and tape it to her locker, which she would rip up.

  "I'm sorry, but I had been dating Natsu for two years at the time, I think." Lucy shook her head and hung it low. She thought people were just trying to mess with her with some stupid prank. "I'm sorry."

    "I don't care, Heartfilia." His voice was laced with venom and hatred. After so long, the guilt with Natsu was starting to fade, but the guilt was resurfacing. "I will make you and the pink-headed hothead suffer. Just you wait," he slowly spoke, his voice sent chills down Lucy's back.

    Sting turned around and walked off the porch, leaving Lucy dumbfounded. "I'm sorry," she managed to choke out again. Though her voice was quiet, he heard it.

     "Maybe I should send some photos of us to him again." Getting in his car , he sped out the driveway and was out of sight.

     Again? Had he done this before? Lucy wondered if she should tell Natsu about this encounter. They finally settled things, and this would only ruin it.

Closing the door, she jumped onto the sofa again, sighing deeply into its cushions. She could only hope keeping it a secret wasn't that bad of an idea.  
  
  


**_-edited-_ **

**_sorry for the awkward chapter :) but nalu is coming soon again! so, there's that. also, has anyone watched charlotte? it's a really good anime. i absolutely love it._ **

**_anyway, i hope you enjoyed this slightly longer chapter. thanks for waiting so long :) it's very appreciated <3_ **


	14. Chapter Thirteen

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WATTPAD.COM/XXDARK_PASSENGERXX

**third pov**

      Sitting on the couch, Lucy felt as if she was forgetting something. She checked the time.  _12:37._  Seems like a normal day, so what was bothering her? She was dying to find out.

     Lucy got up and decided to take a stroll around. Natsu had been gone for a while and should be back soon; maybe an hour or so. What was she supposed to do until then? There was definitely something wrong, but what?

     Then, she gasped as she stared at her daughter's door. She forgot about Nashi. Already thinking about the scolding she's going to get from Natsu, she runs downstairs, grabs her coat, and slams the door as she quickly makes her way down the streets and to the school. It had been almost fifteen minutes since Nashi's school ended.

    "I'm such a terrible mother!" Lucy muttered as she hurried up to he entrance of the school. Stepping in, she realized almost everyone had cleared out. It was almost time for the afternoon classes.

    "Can I help you, Miss?" an elderly woman asked. Lucy nodded. "And how may I be of help to you?"

    "I, uh, am here to pick up my daughter. I ran a little, um, late," she stuttered out, taking another look around. She didn't see a speck of pink. "She's got pink hair and sparkling eyes. She is super adorable."

    "I think I know whom you're talking about. If you wouldn't mind, what's her name?"

    "Nashi," Lucy answered, getting a queasy feeling in her stomach. "Nashi Dragneel."

    The woman's smile widened. "Dragneel? You're a friend of Natsu?" Lucy, again, nodded. "Oh, he is just the sweetest thing. I love that boy to death."

   Lucy hummed, taking looks to the side. She didn't know what to say. "Yeah, he really does capture everyone's attention. He's a bit busy, however, so I'm here to pick her up."

    The woman began to turn around, but then stopped. "Wait a minute," she looked to the side. To Lucy, it seemed like she needed a moment to think. "Something's not right," her voice trailed off.

     "Listen," Lucy laughed, trying to sound playful. "I would love to stay and talk for a bit, but Natsu, even though he is so sweet, can get really scary at times— especially if it's about Nashi."

     "But someone who claimed to be Natsu's friend came over a while ago," the woman started. "He picked her up and showed some pictures of him and Natsu to prove it."

    "So, Nashi isn't... here?" Lucy could already feel her grave being dug. If a friend was supposed to pick Nashi up, Natsu would have told her. "This is  _not_  right. Can you describe this 'friend'?"

    "Sure!" the elder cheered. "He seemed as young as Natsu, he had blond hair, blue eyes, and was taller than Natsu by an inch, perhaps?" she explained as Lucy gulped.

    "Was there a— a scar on his... forehead?" Lucy hesitantly pointed the spot around her right eye. "Please say no," she whispered.

    "Definitely. He said he had gotten it during a fight with Natsu. He seemed so reckless." The woman smiled and got ready to leave. "It was my first time meeting him, so I can't remember too much about him." The woman paused for a bit. "Nashi seemed fond of him. In fact, she ran to him once she saw him."

      "I'm sure she's in a... wonderful place." Lucy spun on her heels and stomped away She whipped out her phone and punched in Sting's number. Once he picked up, she screamed, "A-Hole!"

     _"You're so mean, Luce!"_

Lucy stopped her stomps and her face paled once she heard his all too familiar voice. Someone make her unconscious already. "N— Natsu?"

      _"So,"_  she could practically feel his grin through the phone.  _"Unexpected surprise. My friend picked her up ten minutes ago and took her to his house. Just two minutes ago, I came home and saw him on the couch. Sorry I couldn't tell you earlier,"_  he apologized.

     Seriously, why hadn't she banged her head in a wall yet? "Oh.. no, it's fine." She gave a nervous laugh as she punched her palm against her forehead. Sting must've came in to the house once she left. "Everything's okay."

      _"Sorry if ya got worried,"_  he chuckled and she sped up her walking pace.  _"We'll go on a date tomorrow, if that's okay. I haven't seen my friend in a while, so we're gonna catch up. That all right?"_

Not at all. "Uh, yeah! Sure."

       _"I could kick him out if you want."_

"No, seriously. It's fine. Get some weight off your shoulders— have some fun." She internally cried, though Natsu deserved this. Were him and Sting really friends?

      _"Aw, geez, you're literally amazing! Come home quickly so I could introduce you!"_

"Yeah, introduce." She felt her palms getting sweating, her knees get weak, and her arms becoming heavy. "Yeah."

     She was so screwed.

—

Lucy hesitantly twisted the knob and walked into her house. She heard two familiar voices; one she could never get tired of, but the other was one she absolutely despised. She wished she never had to hear his voice again.

"Luce!" She walked into the living room and saw an overly-excited Natsu. "Come say hi to my friend! Luce, this is Sting," he pointed to the blond. "And Sting, this is Lucy."

Sting outstretched his hand with a smirk playing on his lips. "Nice to meet you, Lucy."

Lucy's face had a scowl on it and she roughly grabbed his hand. "Nice to meet you too," she hissed through her teeth. She clenched his hand and he did the same. The two were trying to squish each other's bones.

Natsu noticed, wondering why the two seemed so hateful of each other. "Okay, um, so!" He looked to Lucy. "I forgot to call you and tell you he was going to pick her up. I'm really sorry," he apologized again with sad eyes. Those eyes gave a look that Lucy couldn't say no to or be mad at.

"Nah, it's all right. I needed to burn some calories anyway," she reassured, taking a seat beside Natsu. If Natsu wasn't here, she was sure Sting would have made an offensive joke to her weight. She wondered if Sting had said anything about their relationship; but if Natsu seemed cheerful, then that meant he didn't know. "What were you two taking about before I arrived?"

Natsu frowned, his eyes becoming sad. "He was explaining about a girl he's in love with." Lucy raised an eyebrow. "She left him and I'm cheering him up since I'm such an amazing friend." He smiled.

Lucy almost choked in her spit. "O-Oh, is that so?" She nervously laughed. Natsu gave her a look, but said nothing. "Aw, you must be feeling terrible." She almost growled at Sting.

"I'm feeling much better thanks to your friend."

Natsu piped in, "Boyfriend! We got back together." Natsu grinned again.

"Oh!" Sting acted surprised, but Lucy knew it was all just a façade. He was a liar. She learned it the hard way. He ruined her family. "Well, that's wonderful! You know what's gonna fill the hole in my heart?" It was a rhetorical question. Natsu shrugged, however, he knew it had something to do with food. "That food you would get from that place."

"That's not very specific," Natsu mumbled as he rolled his eyes. "Do you mean the shawarmas?"

Sting nodded, a pleading look in his eyes. "Please! I will do anything for you to go get them! The taste of those things are phenomenal!"

Natsu sighed before standing up to get his wallet. "Why don't you two get to know each other while I'm gone? I'll be back in twenty, maybe thirty."

Lucy wanted to tell Natsu who Sting really was, but could she? "Natsu?" He hummed in response. She couldn't do it. "Stay safe."

He smiled and gave her a quick kiss on her lips. The pinkette then bid farewell and was out the door. Sting turned to her and she rolled her eyes, grabbing the T.V. remote and switching the channels.

     "I'm sure you can tell," Sting started. Lucy went on Cartoon Network and began to watch The Amazing World of Gumball. "But he doesn't know about us."

     "What we used to be," Lucy corrected, her eyes staying on the screen in front of her. She didn't bother giving Sting the attention he didn't deserve. "Where's Nashi right now, sleeping?"

Sting nodded and watched the show with her. "You know," he whispered, scooting over to where she was. "I've an offer to give."

Lucy rolled her eyes and shoved him back to where he was. "And I've an offer to decline."

"You don't even know what it is."

"I'm not going back to you, crap face." She was tired of his bull. Why couldn't he just understand that she didn't want anything to do with him?

"I said absolutely nothing about  _us._ All I stated was I had an offer to give." He then smirked, raising an eyebrow at the other blonde. "Who would want to date a cheat anyway?"

Lucy swallowed the spit that began to fill up. She didn't reply because there wasn't a way to respond. It was true. No one wanted someone who would cheat on them. Why did Natsu accept her back in the first place?

She shook her head. This is what Sting probably came for. He wanted to mess with her mind and she wouldn't let him. Not anymore. "So, what's your offer?"

"As you know, I've been watching you for a while,  _Heartfilia_." heart ached at her surname. It wasn't Dragneel anymore. "And I know some things."

"Like what?"

"Gray hates you," he whispered, his smirk still on his lips. Before Lucy could fix him, and say  _used to_ , he continued to speak. "Though he says you guys are on good terms, I still see the hatred in his eyes. He wants you gone."

    "Get to the point already," Lucy hissed through clenched teeth. She was mad at herself for letting him get to her.

     "I want you to kiss him." Sting smirked and Lucy gawked at him. She was tempted to just run, but she wasn't going to anymore.

    "Why?"

     "I want to ruin your life, Heartfilia." He took a quick glance at the window beside the door, probably to check if Natsu was outside. "And you seem to really love Natsu. I feel like you would be much more affected by me breaking his heart than anything I could do to you."

    Lucy shook her head for the second time. What made the idiot think she would agree? She just got her family back together, she wasn't going to ruin it; but what would Sting do if she didn't accept his offer? "You expect me to just blindly do as you say? What do you take me for, a dummy?"

    Sting ignored the last part of her comment. "Well, you can do it or you can ignore it; it's your choice." Lucy gave him a skeptical look. "However, I will then do what I do best."

    Lucy didn't bother asking what it was. There was no point because his answers were always ridiculous. He mostly likely would show Natsu a picture. It was probably going to be the two of them together with some photoshop to make it seem recent. Either way, she had no way of stopping this. "Wait," she called out. "What if I tell Natsu what you're planning? You can't do anything then."

    "Then I'll just beat him mercilessly. Your choice," he answered, taking another glance out the window.

    "You think you can beat Natsu?" Lucy scoffed at his arrogance. "You're so ignorance."

    "And you're so foolish." He rolled his eyes and crossed his arms. "I do know he's physically strong, but I wonder how 'strong' he's going to be if something happened to his sweet Baby Girl."

    "You Motherfu—"

     "Natsu!" Sting yelled out loudly, a wide smile on his face. Lucy could still see the slight smirk though. "You're back!"

    Natsu threw the bag of food to Sting, who barely caught it. "Luckily, there was no traffic. It was a smooth ride." He took a glance at the hall. After taking off his shoes, he walked towards Nashi's bedroom. "I'm gonna quickly check on Nash. I'll be right back!"

    He hurried down the corridor and Lucy sighed. She couldn't think of a better choice at the moment. If Natsu didn't find out, there wasn't any harm in doing this, right?

    "Okay," she quietly agreed. Guilt was all she felt, different scenarios of Natsu finding out played through her head. "I'll play your sick game, dumb arse."  
  


**_-edited-_ **

**_hellooo, i've returned :) next week, or the week after that, i will post a nalu one shot. i usually don't like those because i feel like they could be so much more, but i've had this idea for sooo long. anyway, stay tuned._ **

**_happy almost march break :) hope you enjoyed the chapter!!_ **


	15. Chapter Fourteen

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WATTPAD.COM/XXDARK_PASSENGERXX

**_APRIL FOOLS!!_ **  
**_nah, i'm just joking. enjoy._ **

**_—_ **

**third pov**

     "I'm back, Losers!" Natsu yelled out as he slammed the door shut. Slipping off his shoes and jacket, he ran to the living room. He furrowed his eyebrows when he saw Lucy sitting on one couch and Sting sitting on a chair across the room. "Do you two not get along?"

     "If only you knew," Lucy mumbled, before putting on a smile. Natsu clearly heard, but before he could even say anything, Lucy jumped up and grabbed the food out of his hands. "Thanks, Nat."

"Wait a freaking minute," Sting hissed out at the fellow blonde as he slowly stood up. "I'm pretty sure I was the one who asked for the damn food."

"So?" Lucy asked as she rolled her eyes. She made her way to the kitchen to set the food down. "I want food, I'm going to get food one way or another. Just shut up and share."

     Natsu jumped onto the chair and sat down probably as recklessly as he could. His green eyes skimmed over to the clock on the stove and read '14:20.' He smiled. "It's only the afternoon, we can still all do something!"

"Natsu," Lucy warned, her eyes slightly narrowing at him. "Do you not remember what happened when you, Gray, and I went out together for dinner? What makes you think this will end any better?"

He giddily shrugged his shoulders. "I don't know." He paused for a second before hesitantly opening his mouth. "I actually don't think about how it could end. Just thought it could be some fun."

Lucy looked away from his alluring eyes. If she looked in to them for any longer, she would agree on whatever his plan was. All she knew was she had to do everything she could to prevent it from happening.

    "I'm actually not feeling too well," she lied through her clenched teeth. "I'm sorry." She didn't want to upset him, but there was no way this could be successful. Something wrong was bound to happen.

     "Oh," Natsu, being the gullible guy he is, believed her. He smiled and leaned a bit on the table. "Maybe some other time then," he reassured, this time giving a toothy grin.

    Lucy nodded her head when she knew it wasn't really going to happen. "Definitely, of course!" She gave him a forced smile, not wanting to upset him.

    "Awesome!" he cheered, jumping on his feet and dropping himself onto the couch in the living room. He put his legs up on the table and glanced between Lucy and Sting. He began to notice the tension between the two. "So," he decided to break the ice. However, he didn't know what to say next.

    Sting shrugged and looked at the T.V. "How about a movie?" he asked mainly Natsu, ignoring the infuriated blonde. He smirked at her clenched fists. 

     She gritted her teeth together and her eyebrow twitched. "How about you go home?" she mumbled quietly. Natsu gave her a disapproving look and she cursed herself for forgetting about his enhanced hearing.

     "I think a movie sounds great," Natsu commented, grabbing the remote from the far end of the couch. He went through the movies' sections and scrolled through. "Which movie do you guys want to watch?"

     Lucy noted how he was looking through the horror/thriller section. It's not like he knew she didn't like those two genres, she kept it a secret since she was embarrassed. She looked at the covers of the movies, trying to pick one that didn't look so bad. "Oh!" she cried out, pointing at a movie. "How about 'Happy Death Day'?"

    Sting shook his head, his lips in a thin line. "No way, that move wasn't scary at all. I think we should watch 'The Strangers: Prey at Night'. It came out recently, so I doubt you two have watched it."

     Natsu nodded, typing the name of the film on the T.V. "Here it is!" He clicked on the movie, but before it played, he looked at the two. "Do you guys wanna watch the trailer?" They shook their heads and he began the movie.

     Throughout the movie, the two blonds didn't leave each other alone. Sting would occasionally throw popcorn into Lucy's hair and she would give him the finger when Natsu wasn't looking; Lucy would push Natsu — since he sat in between the two— towards Sting, which would cause the latter's head to hit the lamp on the side; Sting would creep his arm around Lucy's shoulders and tap them, causing her to scream; etcetera. 

     The two weren't as slick as they thought they were. They thought their stupid acts were all happening behind Natsu's back, but he noticed all of it and he was growing damn tired of it. Still, he decided to keep quiet for a little while longer.

     However, when Lucy grabbed the remote from his lap and was about to chuck it at Sting, he caught her wrist before she let go of the object. Lucy's eyes got wide and she knew she was in trouble. Sting would've laughed, but he knew he would be getting an earful as well.

    "All I wanted to do was watch a movie," he let go of her wrist and snatched the remote out of her hands, "But I never can. I can never actually enjoy a night-out with a friend— and I don't know why!" he ranted.

    "Natsu, I'm—"

     "Sorry? I'm sure you were sorry the night we went out with Gray." He then looked to the other blond, who swallowed his saliva in fear. "And you." He jabbed a finger into the other's chest. "You can't be the bigger person? Out of all the years I've known you, you aren't annoying in this way."

     Lucy tried to speak again. "Look—"

     "No, forget it. You two can bicker while I go upstairs." He was sorry. He didn't mean to make whatever worse, but Natsu couldn't help it; something always went wrong and he couldn't figure out why exactly. He always assumed it was just Lucy's competitive side, but it was something else.

    Locking the door once he stepped into the bathroom, he looked in the mirror. Maybe there was something wrong with him.

—

     "Look what you did, Idiot!" she harshly whispered to Sting. "You've made him mad!" She groaned loudly and hit her back against the couch. She just got Natsu back— and now she was going to lose him again?

Sting gave her a look as if it were obvious. "Well, yeah," he answered, a bit confused. "That kind of was my plan, you know." He then gave her a smirk and she shut her eyes, not wanting to look at him anymore. "You still have to kiss Gray."

"But he's married!" she argued, not wanting to do it. It was bad enough she kept screwing up her own relationship, she didn't need to ruin everyone else's.

"But you," he jabbed a finger right in front of her chest. She hesitantly looked down and he flicked his finger up, striking her nose.

"Ow."

"Already agreed, and don't forget what'll happen if you don't listen to me," he threatened, the smirk still present on his face. She glared at him and he scoffed. "You're pathetic."

"Shut up." Lucy absolutely hated Sting so much. If only she could go back to the day they met at the Fairy Tail Bar that Friday night, everything would be okay. Nothing would be out if its order. "I've got to apologize to Natsu first."

     Sting clicked his tongue and shook his head. "I'm afraid you can't. Go and smooch Gray," he mockingly laughed and stood up, "While I go be a great friend and apologize for being such a jerk."

     Before Lucy could protest, he was already headed in the same direction Natsu went. Lucy frowned at what was to happen next. She didn't want to hurt Natsu any further, but if she didn't kiss Gray, Natsu would physically be hurt along with Nashi. What was worse; being physically hurt or emotionally?

      With a shaky sigh, she stood up. She never should've came back to Natsu. If she stayed with Sting, him and Nashi would be safe and fine. Natsu seemed to have his life under control. Just what good was she doing to him?

     She grabbed her phone and opened the door, walking through it. This wasn't going to be pleasant at all for anyone.

    Walking down the slightly buzzing streets, Lucy tried recalling where Gray's house was. It wasn't too far, from what she remembered. Of course, he could've moved or something like that. He did get married, maybe him and Juvia were now living in a bigger house, one they both could be comfortable in.

    Lucy froze once she saw Gray looking though the mail. He was standing on his porch, eyebrows furrowed staring at a pile of junk of mail in his hands. She saw him sigh and shut the door. Lucy didn't move. All she did was stand in the same spot for a long while.

     With all her courage, she took a step forward. One step after the other until she made it to his driveway. It was now or never, she thought. Maybe never would've been better though.

    In a blink of an eye, she was cursing every profanity she knew and ringing his doorbell. "Wonderful," she muttered to herself, her voice dripping with sarcasm. "Just wonderful."

     Gray opened the door and gave a confused smile to Lucy. "Uh," he looked around, hoping to maybe find a pinkette with her. This a seemed a little sketchy. "Lucy, hi?"

     "Can I come in?" she asked, her voice trembling almost as much as she was internally. If she was going to do a terrible thing, she would like to do it somewhere where no one could stare.

    Still, it would have been much better if she gave him a quick peck and ran down the streets. It would have been better to get it over with as quickly as possible.

     "Yeah, sure." He stepped aside and let her in.  She walked in, seeing the familiar colour on the four walls of the entrance. The same picture frames, a couple different decor here and there. "Anyway," she looked to Gray, "What brings you here?"

     She felt her mouth go dry as she slightly opened it, only to have shut it again. She prayed to every God she had ever heard of, to help her with this simple, stupid task.   
  
  
  
  
  


**_-edited-_ **

**_happy easter!!! i hope you all are having a wonderful long weekend :)_ **

**_anyway, i've finished my other book (yay) and i've published a 4500-word one-shot :) sooo, if you like my writing (pfft, why?), you can go check it out..._ **

**_this also means faster updates now :) i'll try making them better... anyway!! i hope you enjoyed this short chapter (sorry)._ **

**_have a good day!!!_ **


	16. Chapter Fifteen

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WATTPAD.COM/XXDARK_PASSENGERXX

**third pov**

       "I just wanted to stop by," Lucy laughed nervously, her hand scratching the back of her head. She went through every part of her brain to try and figure out what to say next, but to no avail. "To see how you and Juvia were doing."

     "Well, thanks, but not once have you ever shown up here without Natsu." Gray eyed Lucy, indicating he was suspicious. It was true; she never saw Gray unless the pinkette was beside her. "Can I get you anything to drink?"

     "Water would be nice, thank you." Lucy smiled and Gray rolled his eyes, leaving Lucy alone in the room as she took a seat on one of their couches. As soon as she sat down, she felt like she was in heaven. It was extremely comfortable and she began devising a plan in her mind to steal it. She would have to wait a few more weeks though; she had to do what she came to do first.

    Suddenly, a glass of water was harshly put in front of her on the coffee table. It made a loud 'clink' sound as it was set down. The ice clattered around the edges of the glass. Looking up, she saw Gray with an impatient look on his face. Picking up the glass, she put it up in the air, as if to say 'cheers.'

     Once she finished the ice cold water, she held the glass in her hands. "If you're here to kill me, you can leave." Her eyes trailed up and she saw Gray's obsidian eyes, which looked almost as cold as the water. She could now see why Natsu called him 'Droopy Eyes.'

     "Kill you? Me? I would never." Lucy, with shaky legs, stood up. She wasn't here to take anyone's life, but she was afraid someone would take hers. "One minute you're all welcoming and nice to me, and the next, you want me across the country."

      "Across the world sounds better to me." He scoffed, taking a step back as she stood up. Lucy gulped and took a step forward. Gray suddenly began feeling queasy at the unrecognizable gaze she gave him. All he knew was, it was trouble. "So, Juvia and I are great. You can leave now."

     Lucy said nothing as she took a quick step forward on her tippy-toes and put her lips to his. That was all she did. Not a kiss, but a lip-to-lip contact. There was a difference, right? After all, it's not like either of them enjoyed it. She did what she had to.

    Gray took a couple of steps back, stumbling against the lamp behind him. He wiped his mouth furiously and glared at Lucy. She would never admit it aloud, but his glare at the moment was slightly terrifying. "I knew you were still a cheat and a," he mouthed the next word. It was the same four-lettered 'S' word he had called her before.

     His words did strike her heart. She was only wanting to protect Natsu, but she just kept making everything worse. Literally ever since she came back, everything went to hell. "I'm sorry, I-"

    "Shut up," he interjected. "I knew you would be bad for him." He then left her there as he walked to the front of the house quickly. He grabbed his coat and slipped on his old Adidas shoes, fumbling with them a bit.

     "Wait!" she called out, trying to stop him. However, she didn't know how to complete her task. "Where are you going?" Even though she had an idea of where he was headed, she still asked. Lucy bit her bottom lip, terrified she would be correct.

     "To Natsu's house to tell him. He doesn't deserve to have all this pain, and you being here, living with him, spending every minute with him— it's not good for him and he might have to do the most dreadful thing again," Gray mumbled the last part.

    Lucy's mind cleared and she didn't try thinking of any protests anymore. All she could think about now was Gray's last comment. It may not have seemed like it, but she cared for Natsu. A lot. "Dread- Dreadful thing... again?"

     Lucy stared into Gray's scary eyes. "He's going to have to go back to his therapist, whom he hated because he just made Natsu feel even worse about himself, saying it was his fault he got married and trusted you in the first place. Ever since those stressful sessions, Natsu's hated therapy, but he doesn't know how else to deal with it— with this."

     Lucy looked down at her feet, which suddenly became interesting. She had no idea Natsu went through so much suffering just because of her. He was finally recovering from the damage, but she opened and tore new wounds. "I'm sorry."

     "Yeah, I am too," he said quietly, more to himself than her. "I shouldn't be the one you're apologizing to."

"If you don't tell him, then he will be fine, won't he?" Lucy reasoned, trying her best to convince him. "There won't be a reason for him to be upset, to go to therapy. He'll continue his life like it has been going and everything will be okay."

"You do that a lot," he accused. "You keep your horrid decisions a secret, and, at the worst time possible, you spill it— or you're found out. I'm not like you, I don't hide things for so long and then tell him because that only makes it worse."

"Please, Gray," Lucy begged, hoping she really wouldn't end up crying. However, a small sob escaped her quivering lips. "Please, everything I've built with him will only get ruined."

"You should have thought about that before you made the choice to ruin it." Without another word from either of them, Gray left through the door, only for Lucy to break down, her tears cascading down her cheeks quickly.

She tried looking at the bright side, but there wasn't much to look at. The only thing that kept her from literally dying inside was knowing Natsu and Nashi were safe. Sure, he would be broken a bit more than he was before, but at least his bones wouldn't be. That was worth it, right?

     Still, she didn't want to give up. Running out the door, she slammed it behind her as her feet hit against the pavement. She quickly ran out of breath, but still continued her running. She realized how out of shape she really was and began thinking of asking Natsu if she could tag along with him next time he goes to the gym. That is, if she's still even in the house until then.

     Lucy squinted her eyes like Natsu does most of the time and saw a blob of raven, which looked exactly like Gray. He stood on the porch as Natsu opened the door and greeted him in. Lucy ran faster, wishing she practiced more when she was little.

    "Wait!" she yelled out. Natsu gave her a confused look and held the door open as she caught up, panting for air. She tried speaking, but couldn't. Natsu quickly ushered her in and noticed Gray's glare on her.

     "What's up, Ice Princess?" Natsu questioned, an eyebrow raised. He sat the two down on the chesterfield as he sat on the outer padding of it. He wondered what the two were arguing about this time.

    Lucy assumed Natsu wasn't upset with her anymore, but her assumptions died down when she saw the small, firing rage in his eyes. Gray pointed an accusing finger at Lucy. "She—"

     "If you really care for Natsu," Lucy interrupted with her whisper. "You wouldn't, Gray." She gave him pleading eyes, to which he just scoffed at.

    "Wouldn't tell what?" Natsu asked, getting slightly impatient with all this. This got tiring real quick; it was starting to get annoying. He could only wish they would stop. He thought the two began getting along, but he stand corrected.

    "Lucy kissed me," he quickly confessed before the blonde could interfere again. The three were silent as no one said anything further. Natsu felt as if he could pass out— he swore he was about to if it weren't for the fact there were three other people in his house.

     "Gra— Gray," Natsu stuttered in a low voice. "Were you the one Lucy left for?" As stupid as it sounded, Sting may have been right. Lucy and Gray may have been together a while ago, especially after this confession.

    "Wha— Natsu! That's extremely stupid," Gray laughed, hoping Natsu would believe him.  "I wouldn't have told you if I did cheat on the," Grays voice trailed as he stopped himself from name-calling the blonde, hoping to keep Natsu from getting angry.

   "I want a name, Lucy," Natsu's voice slightly cracked and he hated it. He just wanted to be happy, and it was kind of difficult at the moment. If it wasn't Gray (which he doubted anyway), then whom did she go with?

    "The name's not important, Natsu." Lucy looked up to him with pleading eyes. Everything was just fine a few days ago— just yesterday. Why did it all turn to rust?

     "Maybe not to you," he whispered, his green eyes staring her down. "But I need to know I'm wrong." Lucy didn't have to ask him what his assumptions were. It must have been someone he was close to or he wouldn't care as much.

     "Once a cheater, always a cheater," Gray quietly said, to which he only got a glare from Natsu. That shut him up pretty quickly. He mumbled an apology, but they all knew he didn't mean a bit of it at all.

     "Lucy," Natsu warned. He wanted to wake up to her beside him— all she had to do was say a name. Whether he was right or wrong with whom it was, he would forgive her. He already had. "Just tell me."

     Hesitantly, she opened her mouth. Right before her courage got some words out, the despised blond came waltzing the stairs with a smirk of triumph plastered across his face. "Hello, Chickens," he greeted.

    "It—"

     "I laid Nashi down to rest," Sting stated, his dark, navy blue eyes never moving from Lucy. "In more ways than you would think." He winked at Lucy, hinting she should keep quiet. She had a different plan.

    Praying to every God she heard of, she hoped Nashi was okay and wasn't 'put to rest' as she thought. Firmly, she looked to Natsu, who raised an eyebrow at her unusually usual demeanour.

     "It was Sting."  
  


**_-edited-_ **

**_hello!! i really do want to make the chapters longer, but at some points, i really want to end the chapter there. i guess it's okay, it means more chapters then._ **

**_g'nighttt!! err, or morning— afternoon. i don't know_ **

**_:)_ **


	17. Chapter Sixteen

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WATTPAD.COM/XXDARK_PASSENGERXX

**third pov**

"Sting?" Natsu repeated, a bit confused. It may not have seemed like it, but the two were actually kind of close. They had known each other for quite a long time, maybe longer than Lucy knew Sting. "What are you going on about?"

"I'm sorry," Lucy whispered. She felt terrible because Natsu didn't deserve any of the somber events that occurred. He deserved nothing but happiness, which was more than the world could offer. "I really am."

"That's bull crap!" Sting cried out, glaring even more at Lucy. He squinted his eyes and crossed his arms, hinting at her to shut her mouth. Lucy, however, was tired of listening to him and doing whatever he wanted to.

"Exactly!" Gray agreed. "She's probably just trying to break you two apart to have you to herself. I never trusted her. Don't forget the fact that she kissed me."

"Because of Sting!" she quickly replied, hoping to convince Natsu. It was clear whom Natsu would believe though; Gray had never left him, he knew him longer, and at the moment, he seemed more convincing.

"It's not like I grabbed your head and smashed it into his, now did I?" Sting retorted, venom dripping from each word that slowly came out of his mouth.

Their side seemed more persuasive, she agreed on that. If she were in Natsu's position, she would pick the two best friends over the lover that demanded a divorce from him. Still, she thought she should continue to fight for her love for Natsu.

"Well, no," she admitted quietly with a solemn look on her face. "But I'm sure threatening to hurt him and our daughter is much worse." Lucy glared at the squinting blond.

     Natsu shook his head, too confused to think of anything. He didn't know what to say— he didn't want to have to choose between his best friends and the woman he loves. Gray, seeing this, spoke up for him. "I think you should go take a shower or a nap, Natsu."

     Natsu's eyes wandered over the three in the room. He couldn't just leave them like this, but he couldn't stay without being able to think straight. Reluctantly, he nodded his head, giving them a knowing look before heading up the stairs without a word.

     "As stressful as this may seem, he needs to be here! He needs to know the damn truth!" Lucy whisper-yelled at Gray with a scowling look. She couldn't stand the thought of angering Natsu for the nth time. She was tired of letting herself upset him.

"He looked as if he was about to break down! I have seen him cry enough when  _you_  left him, I don't want to see him on the verge of tears ever again!" Gray spoke through gritted teeth. "I finally thought you were good for him! You just had to go and ruin it?"

"I told you, it's not my fault!" she defended, pointing an accusing finger at Sting. "It was his! I'm so sick of you assuming that I'm always the bad guy! I'm not!" Lucy realized that if Natsu were to get some relaxation, they should have been speaking a bit quieter.

Sting slightly smirked, Gray noticed, but didn't point it out. "I did nothing. Even if I did do something, you would have no proof." He then gave a small chuckle. "You trapped yourself, Blondie."

Lucy ignored Sting and decided to address Gray's comment. "I  _am_  good for him!" She doubted her words. Still, she continued. "I can help him raise Nashi, and I'll make sure he's happy."

"He didn't have your help raising the first three years of Nashi's life," Gray spoke, his glare still strong on his face. "I'm sure he can raise the rest of her life without you."

     Lucy froze and shut her mouth. He was right, whether she liked it or not. She left her daughter and loving husband— and for what? Instead, the man she loves is stuck with that toxic blond. Recently, she never really thought she deserved Natsu, but she was still fighting for him. If she loved him, why would she leave?

    From the corner of her eye, she could see Sting smirk. What an A-Hole. "What, you lost for words or something?" He laughed. She could do nothing but look down at her feet and play with her fingers. "Or maybe you  _finally_ realize you're wrong."

      She was so close to punching him, and she probably would've, had Gray not spoken up. "I think we've all had enough for today." He glanced at Lucy, who was still looking down. Giving her a look with a bit of pity, he continued. "We're not in our right minds and I think it's best if we leave Natsu alone for a while."

    Sting shrugged, the corner of his lips only twitched even more upward. "I think that's a wonderful idea. I think it would be even greater if Lucy leaves Natsu alone for the night as well. Like, stay at a hotel."

    Lucy realized what he was doing and looked up, a burning fire in her eyes. "No way! This is still my house and I need to looked after Nashi!"

    "I know your true reasons," Sting stated. "You've got no money. You've been feeding off Natsu's wallet." He snickered; he knew he was right, and so did she— about not having money.

    Lucy sighed deeply; she absolutely hated this night and just wanted the next few days to pass quickly and subtly. She hated the somber mood she always seemed to bring with her wherever she went.

"I'm not leaving this house for such an invalid reason! You're going to hurt him!" she accused while pointing a finger at him. She didn't meant to blurt it out, and she probably seemed even more crazy to Gray now. Obviously, Sting would deny it. How could she make such an impulsive action?

"I would never!" he defended himself, hiding the smirk that once rested on his face. "Gray?" Looking to the ravenette, he gave a serious look, to which Lucy only rolled her eyes at.

"Let's all just go home."

"My home is here." Lucy gave him the same serious look Sting had given Gray, only this time, it wasn't fake. Her look hadn't wavered in fear under Sting's glare, which refused to falter.

"I meant," Gray stood up, his figure towering over the smaller blonde's, "Where you were in the past three years; to the man you left your family for."

"It was Sting! I'm telling you!" she cried out. It was so clear he wasn't going to believe her. She didn't blame him; he was only looking after Natsu and it was really hard to believe her at the moment. She wouldn't have trusted herself.

"Just get out."

"But—"

"Get out." Gray's arm was extended out towards the door, a finger pointing towards it.

Lucy realized there would be no way in staying. So, she grabbed her purse that was sitting on the couch and stood up straight before making her way towards the door. Before she left, she turned around and stuck her middle finger out to Sting. She walked out before any of the two could say anything further.

     Heading down the driveway, she silently let out a sob. She quickly wiped away a stray tear and tried focusing on more important things; Natsu and Nashi's safety. Maybe she was over-exaggerating, but she was afraid in losing the two in more ways than one.

    She whipped out her phone from her purse and dialled a familiar number she knew slightly by heart. She needed help to ensure their safety.

      _"Hello?"_

     It was the same voice she had spoken to before coming over to Natsu's house. With a deep breath, she greeted him back. "Hey, Zeref," she said slowly, praying he wouldn't hang up on her.

    There was a small silence before she heard some shuffling.  _"Uh, yeah, hi. Can I help you?"_ She didn't blame him for being so awkward with her; when Natsu and her were married, she never really did interact with anyone he was close to. She only realized this after their divorce. 

     "You can," she admitted quietly, standing still on the pavement. "I want you to stay the night at Natsu's." She bit her lip in anticipation. Though they never really spoke, Zeref was an auspicious man; he was promising and reliable.

    He never asked questions unless absolutely necessary. It was something she liked about him.  _"Yeah, I'll, uh, be there in a couple of minutes."_

   "Okay." Lucy was about to end the call, only to realize their call had been cut off. She smiled, knowing Natsu and her daughter were in great hands.

    Still, she couldn't shake off the terrible feeling. She never ignored her intuition. So, she decided to hang around the house a little bit. Literally. She thought maybe if she was around the perimeter of the house, she could know if something bad was going to happen. She could easily call 911 or go in by herself. She liked the former option since it was more trusting.

     Lurking in the shadows, she looked through the windows, trying not to be seen. Her eyes scattered around as she observed everything. It was exactly like it was five minutes ago.

She laughed at herself. Why was she being so paranoid? Natsu could easily fight off Sting with a single punch to his face. Natsu wouldn't even have to try! He had a good self-defence, she knew that. However, she didn't walk away. Instead, she put her hand up on the tree behind her and attempted to climb it.

Finally, she made it to the top with some scratches and spots she knew were going to end up becoming bruises. She couldn't care less about herself though. With a silent groan, she leaned forward, hoping to get a better view of the inside. It was Natsu's room and the pinkette and Sting both sat on the bed.

Lucy did nothing but watch as they exchanged a few sentences. In a blink of an eye and completely unexpectedly, a gun was pointed to Natsu's head.

Out of shock, she didn't reach out for her phone, and instead fell off the tree.

 

**_-edited-_ **

**_warning: about four chapters left :) oops!!_ **

**_soo, my school board had declared a snow day, so her i am :) i hope you enjoyed the short chapter... i'm trying to update weekly, i don't know if you've noticed._ **

**_anyway, bye! enjoy your day!!_ **


	18. Chapter Seventeen

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WATTPAD.COM/XXDARK_PASSENGERXX

**third pov**

      Natsu's eyes stared up at the gun held to his head. He didn't shake in fear at the cold metal touching his forehead as he thought he would have. Instead, he only gulped and stared at Sting, who modelled a cocky smirk and played with the trigger of the gun, as if he would pull it at any second.

      Natsu didn't know if his life would be taken away at the moment, but he couldn't risk it. If he was in this situation before Nashi was born, he wouldn't have cared very much, knowing he had to die anyway. However, he couldn't let Nashi be raised without a father like he grew up. She didn't deserve that.

     "Before you yap and curse at me," Sting spoke quietly in a slightly taunting, overconfident voice. "Just know this is all the fault of that blond bitc—"

     Sting was interrupted by a strong punch to his face. The gun pointed up, as did Sting's head. Slowly, he brought his head down and glared at the pinkette, who had jumped and pinned the blond to the ground. Sting's mouth went from agape to a smirk. He knew he hit a vulnerable spot.

     "You're mad," he stated obviously and sarcastically, observing the pinkette's expression. He couldn't help but snicker at the scene and how it unfolded. He decided to play a bit more. "Is it because you know it's true?"

     Natsu said nothing, still holding the blond's arms over his head and glaring fiercely at him. "Shut the hell up." He was beyond mad for being such a fool and letting this two-faced idiot into his life. He hated how he doubted Lucy. He always managed to choose the wrong over the right. "There's a reason no one likes you."

    "You had seemed to like me."

     Natsu was so glad Gray took Nashi with him. She didn't need to be here or hear the cries of the stupid blond. Natsu raised his arm up and brought it down with full force, hitting Sting square in the face. He really did hope it had hurt.

    "You're an arse," he cursed as he hit the man beneath him again. He did once more before stopping. "I hate you." He hated how easily he trusted Sting. He should've known 'accidentally' calling the wrong person was too obvious. He despised how much of an idiot he had been.

Sting kicked Natsu in the stomach and sent him flying a few feet back. Natsu stumbled and held his stomach, which slightly began to hurt, but he refused to let the blond have any sort of satisfaction of his damage. "Frick," he cursed, silently groaning in pain.

Sting stood up, only slightly bothered by the punches Natsu had thrown. However, he was still in more of a worse shape than Natsu. He clutched the gun in his hand tightly. "I'll freaking kill you," he choked out loudly as he pointed the gun at Natsu again.

"I freaking dare you," Natsu taunted him without any hesitancy, his eyebrows raised in anticipation. "Wuss."

Sting pulled the trigger and the bullet went flying. Natsu moved out of the way quickly, having the bullet hit past him. Natsu's eyes closed in shock, but quickly opened to see Gray standing there, holding his shoulder with the door open.

Sting only smirked wider as Natsu stared at his best friend. "Stripper?" he called out, wanting to touch his shoulder, but holding back, knowing he might only cause more pain. How could he let Gray get hurt?

"Now is really not the time to call me names," Gray laughed a little, "Flame-Brain."

"Where did you get shot?" he quickly asked. knowing another bullet would be shot anytime now. "Let's quickly run downstairs and call an ambulance. They can help you," he whispered so Sting wouldn't be able to hear.

"I wasn't actually shot," Gray said with some confusion, removing his arm from his shoulder. Natsu's eyes slightly widened at the slight tear in his shirt. That was it, though. No bullet. Taking a look back, he saw it had hit the wall behind them. Natsu gave a sigh of relief, but then remembered there was still a madman in front of them.

As Natsu was about to tell Gray another one of his plans for escape, Gray tackled the unsuspecting blond to the floor and landed a few hits on his not-so-pretty (anymore) face. Natsu could see his nose bleeding and other spurts of blood over his, what looked to be, disorientated face.

He came to a conclusion; the three of them were going to die tonight.

—

"Ah, crap," Lucy groaned out as she held her head in her hands. Opening her eyes, she realized she was staring at the sky while laying on the ground. She remembered falling from the tree and slipping out of conscious. "Stupid!" she cursed herself. This was no time to sleep, she had to call 911!

She placed her hands on her pockets, only to have felt nothing. She swore out another profanity before forcing herself up. She felt the rising pain in her ankle. If she didn't know any better, she would say she sprained her ankle.

None of it mattered, however. She needed to get to the nearest phone, which, at the moment, was inside the house. She heard noises from upstairs and assumed it would be safe downstairs where she would be.

Silently making her way to the front, she held onto the wall as she walked with its support. She prayed the door would be unlocked. Somehow, luck was on her side for once as she entered the house.

Immediately, she heard a lot of thuds and shouts and walked a bit quicker to the phone. Grabbing the home phone, she dialled the three digits that would save everyone in this house.

_"911, what's your emergency?"_

"I— I need an ambulance sent right away. Police, too. No— Now!" she managed to stutter out, along with the address following right after her request. She was told to stay out as they would be on their way. Lucy thanked the operator and hung up, wondering if she should go upstairs.

A gunshot was heard and she froze. Up there, Natsu was probably dancing around trying to dodge the bullet hurling towards him— and what was she doing? Standing around waiting for someone else to come help.

Without another thought, she ran up the stairs with her slightly pained ankle. Quietly, she peaked in through the door that hid all the chaotic scenes.

Where Sting got a gun was beyond her. At least now they could increase his sentence in jail, maybe even prison. She hoped it was the latter; the annoying arse deserved more than jail-time. 

She saw Gray on the floor attacking Sting. Sting had rolled them over, him now punching the former. Seriously, where was the police? She tried peaking farther in to see if she could find Natsu, but failed to do so.

    She knew she would regret for what she was about to do next, but she couldn't help it. She swung the door open and glared at Sting, who was still busy with Gray. Lucy looked over and saw Natsu against the wall, almost passed out and trying to form a plan, she assumed.

    When he looked over, he was surprised to see her here. His eyes widened and he kind of flinched. "What the hell are you doing?" he asked lowly, not wanting to alert the blond struggling on the floor. "You could get hurt!"

     "It's because I'm a girl, right? Is that why you think I can't fight?"

     "No! I don't understand why you would join a fight on purpose," he admitted, still confused why she was here. He shook his head, ridding their conversation and starting anew. "We need to call the police right now."

     "Already did." Lucy walked over to him to see if he was okay. By the looks of it, he wasn't doing too well; not many bruises or blood had been bled, but he did look very fatigued. "Let's go before they find out we're here."

"I'm not leaving!"

"It's better than just standing there hopelessly!" she snapped. Before Natsu could reply to her, they heard sirens outside. The two on the floor heard as well and looked up, shocked to see the blonde standing there. She smirked at the bruised up blond. "Checkmate."

Sting scowled at her as he pushed Gray off and made a run for the door. Natsu immediately followed after him. Lucy helped Gray up with his arm around her shoulder and they went after the guys.

"Are you all right?" she asked Gray as they took a step down. Gray winced at the pain and nodded slowly. "You don't seem to be doing so well, you know? You look like you just crawled from the depths of hell."

They slowly took a couple more steps before Gray stopped. "I'm okay. I can't believe we've only taken three steps. It's been thirty seconds!"

"It's not your fault," Lucy reasoned as she put her foot down. "That jerk really did a number on you, didn't he?" Gray shook his head again, refusing to have been beaten by the stinging bumblebee.

Natsu tackled Sting to the ground and pinned him down for the second time that night. "You're a freaking arse!" he cursed lowly as he punched him. "I actually thought you were the one good guy."

"You sound like you're in love with me." Sting laughed before getting another hard hit to his face. "Ow."

Natsu thought it was pointless to just curse names at Sting, so he tried to stop and keep him still until the police showed up. He heard a few heavy steps from the stairs and his eyes snapped to the direction. He smiled when he saw Gray okay with Lucy.

Suddenly, the door burst open and Natsu crawled off of Sting. The blond didn't seem to care there were policemen with guns pointed in his direction. He stood up, but the officers caught his wrists and handcuffed him.

"You have the right to remain silent," the officer started. She continued to inform him of his rights as they dragged his struggling body across the yard.

"You can all go to hell!" he yelled before laughing really loudly. "I swear on your dead mother's grave, Heartfilia, I will be back to kill you all!" he threatened with a snarl.

Natsu stood beside Lucy and Gray on the porch, watching Sting get pulled away. He watched the blond with hatred as he continued to make his pointless threats. In a blink of an eye, Sting pulled away from the police's grip and ran towards the house again.

Natsu stood there, trying to process what was happening. However, before either of them could do anything, a shot echoed through the dark of the night. Natsu's eyes never left Sting's open, suddenly lifeless ones as he fell to his knees and then his stomach.

Natsu began feeling queasy as he suddenly pushed Lucy aside and turned to his left. He threw up all that was in his stomach, confused what was happening. He looked back, only to see Sting's lifeless body still there. So he really is dead, he concluded. Why couldn't it all just be a dream?

No one said anything as the police walked towards his dead body, picking it up and walking back to their car. Natsu felt a sudden sadness. Sure, Sting tried to kill them all, but he was still a supportive friend. It's hard to see someone so close to you be so two-faced.

Lucy hugged Natsu, who stopped throwing up. She wrapped her arms around him tightly, trying to comfort him. He hugged her back with the same amount of love and affection. Gray, out of no where, decided to join in on their hug.

Natsu laughed at Gray. "We were having a moment, Ice Princess."

Gray glared at Natsu, a fist in the air. "You wanna go, Flame Brain?"

They continued to argue playfully and Lucy giggled at their antics as she rolled her eyes. Even through the most difficult times, they still made light of everything. Some people never change.

A paramedic ran up to them, a couple more following after them. Probably one paramedic to help each one of them individually. They ushered each of them towards the ambulance and checked them up to see if there was any serious injury.

Lucy looked to Natsu as his green eyes stared back. She knew they were going to be okay.

**_-edited-_ **

**_i kinda don't like how all this happened in like, 2100 words... it's so short for such an event! *cries* anyways..._ **

**_there's_ ** **_only, like, three chapters left :) sorry if the book's short, i just like making stories short so i can start writing another, you know?_ **

**_hope you enjoyed the chapter and are having a good day :) see ya next week!_ **


	19. Chapter Eighteen

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WATTPAD.COM/XXDARK_PASSENGERXX

**third pov**

      It had been weeks since the incident with Sting. Gray and Natsu got closer, as did Lucy and Natsu. Nashi occasionally stayed over at Gray's whenever Natsu and Lucy went out for the night. Gray would always be more than happy to look after his favourite child.

    Since then, Natsu's been trying to make the most out of his life. He never knew how easily his life could be taken away. Merely walking across the street is a risk of life. For this very reason, he realized he wasn't doing much with his life and hated that fact.

     To accomplish his goal in a life that was worth living, he had done things he had been wanting to do for so long; climb a mountain, bungee jumping, and things like that. He still had a long list to get through, and he knew he didn't know how much time he had left, but he was going to make the most of it.

    He and Lucy also went on many more dates in the past few weeks. Typical, yet fun ones that made the two have a deeper bond and understanding of the other since they got more communication like this. They went on dates that were more than just a fancy dinner; they went bowling, to a street fight, and they also snuck into a movie theatre. 

     Lucy loved how much Natsu had changed, yet stayed the same. She, too, realized just how short life was. Luckily for her, her and Natsu didn't argue much after the incident. He forgave her, and tried his best to be understanding and tried to imagine being in her shoes. He then went on about how she didn't even need to apologize and how he didn't know what she was apologizing for. Lucy would only roll her eyes and continuously say sorry.

    Though Lucy enjoyed spending so much time with Natsu, she didn't exactly like what they were currently doing. Sitting at a table at their home across from each other, Natsu's green, shining eyes piercing into her soul; delicately, yet fiercely.

    "So," he started kind of awkwardly, sort of fidgeting in his seat. "About you and Sting."

     Natsu had asked if it was okay for him to ask questions about her and Sting. She didn't want to just say no— she couldn't, so she agreed. It wasn't her favourite thing to talk about and it most certainly wasn't her favourite decision she had made, but it needed to be out there— it would be out there soon anyway.

    Lucy nodded to acknowledge his words. "Yeah, what about us? Ask away," she encouraged, silently hating herself for letting him do this, but thought he deserved to know, despite her uneasiness of the situation.

     "How long were you two together before we.. you know?" he asked in a low voice, looking down at the surface of the table. His hair swung low over his face, dropping over his eyes and a bit of his nose.

Lucy gulped down her nervousness and bit her lip. "I think a year and a half." Under the table, her hand was clenched into a fist, her knuckles probably becoming white in colour. She was scared Natsu would think she was even more of a wench if he got answers. A thought of him kicking her out had even crossed her crooked mind.

     "Oh," was all he could choke out. He wanted to ask so much more. Ever since he had found out about their affair, he had been wanting to know; but now, he feels like he was asking too soon. Maybe they should have waited a little while longer. He couldn't handle the truth yet. He was on edge with this answer, and compared to his other questions, this was nothing. "I think I'll be okay for now. I'm pretty satisfied with what I know."

     Lucy understood what he meant and smiled, releasing the breath that built up and was held. "Okay." She put her arm across the table and held his hand in hers. He looked up and smiled, lifting her hand to plant a loving kiss on it.

    They both sat there in silence, not daring to say a word and ruin the moment. All Lucy needed were his green eyes staring back into hers as they did three years ago. Their moment was perfect and she didn't want it any other way. She loved this— she loved him. She decided to say it aloud. 

    "I love you," she whispered out, risking the comfort of the silence. It was fine, though, and she knew it was. She was sure Natsu didn't mind the three words. If anything, the moment would somehow be even more perfect.

    "I love you too, Luce."

     Whoever said nothing's perfect, clearly never experienced what she was feeling, what she was experiencing. They probably never had true love before when they said that.

     Their moment, however, was burnt to ashes when the front door slammed. The two both knew a certain ravenette, who liked feeding on moments' ashes, decided to show up to see how they were doing, Natsu specifically. He would always just give Lucy a dirty look and she would roll her eyes, not giving him any sort of satisfaction in victory of bothering her.

     "Hey!" he yelled loudly, running into the kitchen and slamming his hands onto the table they were sitting at. "How ya doing, Flame-Brain?"

     "I was actually doing great, thanks for ruining that." Natsu squinted his eyes at Gray as Gray looked at Natsu with his droopy eyes.

     Wonderful, Lucy thought.

     "Yeah, we're okay. Thanks for checking up on us." Lucy tried her best to smooth things over, but nothing ever worked with him. Like he always did, he glared at her once again. "I see you're still the same from when we last saw each other."

     "Shut it, Heartfilia," he hissed out quietly. Natsu frowned and cleared his throat, giving Gray a knowing look. Gray crossed his arms and gave a deep, annoyed sigh. "I just came by to see how Natsu and Nashi were doing, cut me some slack, woman."

     "Ice Princess!" Natsu whined, wanting Gray to act mature. It wasn't like the pinkette himself wasn't acting like a child, that hypocrite.

"Whatever," he quickly mumbled to the side to himself. He then looked back and smiled at Natsu. "I can take Nashi with me if you two want to go out on a date or something— I don't know!"

"That would actually be great!" Natsu cheered, giving a toothy grin to his best friend, whom he was really grateful for. "Sometimes you're not a complete A-hole, you know that?"

"Shut it, Ash-For-Brains."

"Make me, Droopy Eyes."

"Please don't start this again," Lucy begged as she rubbed her fingers against her temples, a headache already building up. "I can never handle being around you two."

Looking up, she saw Gray clearly trying to hold back a snarky comment. It probably would've been something along the lines of, 'You already left, why did you come back?' or, 'Then leave. No one asked you to come back anyways,' as he rolled his eyes.

"Meh, I'm going to go get Nashi. I'll be back real quick!" he yelled, waving his hand back at the two as he was already running around the house towards Nashi's room.

The two were now left alone with each other's  _affable_  vibe. Gray gritted his teeth, but said nothing. Lucy kept her mouth shut as well. She could tell he had nothing to say but insults to her. At this point, whatever bull that came out of his mouth and was hurled at her, she didn't even care. He said it, he said it. If he didn't, then he didn't.

Natsu came running back, kind of slow as Nashi was held in his arms. "You're going to be with Uncle Gray, Baby Girl," he said in a quiet voice. "Don't be too much of a bother." He gave a small laugh as he handed Nashi to Gray.

"You know," Gray started. "She's almost four. I think you should stop carrying her everywhere and maybe let her walk around on her own." As much as Natsu hated it, Gray had a point. He nodded his head and Gray smiled again, bending down to let Nashi stand. "There you go."

She wobbled and giggled, running towards the door. Natsu waved the two off. "See ya later, Loser!"

"Later, Flame-Head!"

Before Natsu could retort his wonderful insult and name calling, Gray slammed the door and was long gone. Natsu shook his head and redirected his attention back to the blonde. Suddenly a distressed face grew upon his features.

"Hey," she called out, walking up to him and caressing his arm in a form of comfort. He just suddenly went from a smile to a frown in a split second, and that sort of scared her. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing, I just suddenly remembered the night we fought about... the picture," his voice became quieter with each word as he recalled the terrible memory he tried so hard to change and forget.

"Picture?" she repeated, a bit confused as her eyebrows furrowed.

"Yeah, I'm just wondering who sent those, you know?" He shrugged, flopping onto the couch, as Lucy did the same. "Kind of strange if you ask me."

"It was Sting," she quickly admitted. She bit the inside of her cheek, hoping Natsu didn't think much of it. Then again, what could you go on about? What happened had happened, no one could change that.

"Oh," he sort of stuttered out. "How— How do you know?"

"He... He told me," she stared at the blank T.V. screen in front of them, "A little while back before the... incidental night."

Natsu nodded, looking off to the side. "I'm glad the stressful part is over, though. The closure was needed to fix everything."

Lucy smiled, happy. He was completely right. If this all had not happened, they probably wouldn't be as close. As much as she hated to admit it, she was glad Sting was gone forever. "Yeah, me too."

Natsu mimicked her action with a bit more happiness. Lucy was glad he could finally smile again like he should've been doing in the past few years. "You're beautiful, you know that?"

"Thank you, my fair gentleman." She looked at the clock behind him and gasped, immediately standing up. "Ah, crap! I've an interview. I've got to go, I'll see you around though. Bye!"

"Bye, beautiful!" he yelled out, standing up too.

Lucy turned around from the door and gave him one last genuine smile. She gave him an air kiss. "Goodbye, Pretty Boy." With that, she ran out as fast as she could, giggling while walking down the steps of the porch.

Natsu followed after and opened the door, running across the porch without any shoes. He laughed as he saw her rushing down the driveway. "You're going to be the death of me!" he yelled, his laugh following into his confession. His left hand was cupped over his mouth, hoping to make his cry loud.

She grinned, waving and running off as he only shook his head, closing the door and wondering where to take his beautiful woman for their date later today.  
  
  


**_-edited-_ **

**_i've had this done for a bit, and have decided to publish it. the next chapter will hopefully be published tomorrow, i'm almost done it. the epilogue, however, maybe be published within a week..? i don't know, i don't like leaving a cliffhanger like that :)_ **

**_hope you enjoyed the third-last chapter, and have a good day!!_ **


	20. Chapter Nineteen

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WATTPAD.COM/XXDARK_PASSENGERXX

**third pov**

Natsu shook his leg as he sat on the couch, waiting for his blonde beauty to come home. He impatiently was staring at the blank screen ahead of him as his mind was wandered somewhere else. He had finally decided on a place for them to go, and he was nervous as hell.

      He tried to calm his nerves, but nothing seemed to work. What was worse, he heard the front door open. Confused, he looked at the time. He spent three hours on the sofa fidgeting whilst doing absolutely nothing but worry.

     He deeply sighed and stood up, fixing his clothes and walking to the front to greet Lucy. He saw her with a look he couldn't read. Maybe a smile would make her smile. "Hey," he greeted. "How did it go?"

     She sort of grimaced, but then her lips slightly twitched upwards. "Uh, it was okay. I think I may have messed it up, but whatever. I don't care and I just want the results back." Before Natsu could ask when they would get back to her, she continued on, "They said within  two weeks' time, I'll find out."

     "Well, I'm sure you did great," he reassured, taking her jacket from her. "And to relax your mind, I have decided to take you to a wonderful place for us to go and have some fun. It's going to be great, I just know it."

     Lucy gave him a knowing look, already knowing what he was thinking, or so she thought. "Is it the bar? I'm tired of that place, I'm sorry. How about I decide where we go—"

     "No!" he cut her off abruptly. "It's not a bar. I thought it would be fun if we went to a karaoke! We haven't gone to a proper one! The only karaoke we've done is the one we made in the living room. Please?" he pleaded, hoping she would agree to his idea.

    Lucy thought about it, thinking it over. She really wanted to, but she never liked how everyone stared and judged. She had been to the place once with friends and there was this group of girls who would snicker at her. Maybe though, since Natsu was with her, they would be envious over his talented singing skills.

    She looked up at him and smiled. She had nothing to worry about, Natsu was here for her. "Okay," she said quietly. "Sure, let's do it!" she repeated, actually kind of excited to go. She had realized it wasn't a competition or anything, just some fun with Natsu. She began to think they would probably try to be annoying on purpose.

     "Great! Go get ready then." He put his hands on her back and started pushing her towards the stairs. She stumbled and tried to get him to stop before she ran up the stairs. "That's the spirit!" he yelled as she rolled her eyes, hearing him from up the stairs. 

—

      Lucy knew they didn't have to be good, she   
convinced this to herself before, but now, she was having second thoughts. There were so many people, and that intimidated her. Everyone was so amazing and she didn't think she could beat it.

     "Natsu," she said loudly, hoping he would hear. He hummed and looked towards her with one of his big, toothy smiles. She wanted to tell him she hated this, that she wanted to go home, but she couldn't do it. "No-Nothing."

     The group of friends singing finished their song and stood off the stage. The host, with a mic in his hand, jumped on stage and looked around the area below. "All right, give a round of applause for the spectacular performance done by the group of wonderful ladies."

    That comment didn't make her feel any better and she was nervous as hell. She tightened her fist, hoping to be distracted by the pain. She heard the MC ask who wanted to go next. She sunk into her chair, hoping to get away from everything.

"Lucy?" Natsu called out. She snapped her head to him and met his beautiful eyes. She hummed, as he did earlier. "You want to go?" She kept quiet, hoping to stall some time. She heard the announcer call someone up. Natsu sighed.

"I'm sorry," she quickly said. Natsu looked up and shook his head. "No, I'm sorry. We can go next."

"If you don't want to do it, that's fine, Luce. I don't want to force you to do this," he reassured and this time, she shook her head. His smile crept back up to his face. "Great, then we'll go next." He held her hand to calm her nerves, and it worked.

They said nothing as they watched the next group finish up their performance. The crowd clapped and Natsu looked to Lucy, whose hand was already up in the air. He smiled and squeezed her hand.

Lucy bit her lip and her heart raced faster than ever before when she saw the MC's finger pointed towards her. A fear crept up her back, but she shrugged it back down, hoping to keep it there. She did not need that now of all times.

They stood up and walked to the stage. Lucy realized the two never discussed what song they wanted to sing. Before she could ask the pinkette, a familiar tune played through the speakers and her heart exploded.

On instinct, she started to sing the words she knew all too well, forgetting about the crowd. All she could think about was how happy she was at the moment. "Can I say something crazy?"

"I love crazy," Natsu responded, speaking into his mic. He smiled and laughed as Lucy did the same. This was a song the two of them loved to sing together. It was their song. Her mind drifted off to the hundreds of nights they both shared singing this song.

"All my life has been a series of doors in my face," she sang, trying to imitate the original singer's voice. She looked into Natsu's eyes and that was all she saw. Her eyes didn't go beyond his face, she didn't even remember the stares of the people beneath the stage. "And then suddenly, I bump into you."

"I was thinking the same thing." Natsu grabbed her hand and twirled her in a circle, to which she just laughed off. They had a messy routine for whenever they sang the song together. It was a small thing they had, but, again, it was  _their_  thing. "'Cause like, I've been searching my whole life to find my own place, and maybe it's the part talking, or the chocolate fondue."

He took a step close to her and grabbed her chin, holding it up as she sang. "But with you," they both sang at the same time, Lucy bursting into a girl of laughter. "I'm sorry," she quickly apologized while singing the next part sort of choppy.

They accidentally skipped a few lines from their laughing, but managed to sing, "Love is an open door!" and the, "With you!" like they were supposed to.

"I mean it's crazy," Natsu started, as Lucy was still staring into Natsu's eyes as he did the same, not once breaking their contact.

"What?" she jokingly asked as she turned around quickly, her hair whipping into his face.

He kind of spit out a hair he thought was in his mouth, and quickly sang the next part, not wanting to miss the line. "We finish each other's—"

"Sandwiches!"

"That's what I was gonna say!" Natsu reached into his pocket and whipped out a veggie sandwich. He tossed it to Lucy and she threw it at his face.

"You're unbelievable," she whispered, not caring much about the song anymore. "Full of stupid surprises."

"I'm unbelievably amazing, you know you agree," he quickly spit out, along with another piece of blonde hair. He quickly caught onto the song once again. "Say goodbye."

"To the pain of the past," they both sang as Natsu walked over to Lucy closely again. "We don't have to feel it anymore."

Natsu picked Lucy up with her legs in one arm and her back in his other. She squealed into the mic, a high pitched echo coming from the speakers as Natsu  twirled her around. She tried to continue the song. "Love is an open door!"

He put her down and continued their moment with the song. "Can I say something crazy?" he asked. Lucy giggled as Anna did in the movie. He reached into his back pocket, bringing out a black box. He got on one knee and opened the box, revealing a beautiful, silver ring. "Will you marry me?"

Lucy put her hands to her mouth and looked away, not being able to contain her happiness. Natsu really did love her, or felt something anyway. What was this man doing to her?

She was scared all night over singing in front of a crowd. That had to have scared Natsu as well, definitely, but he was probably screaming his head off inside over having to propose in front of so many people. She couldn't even imagine how terrified he must've been— must be. Just imagine how he would feel if she said no.

"You know?" Natsu quickly whispered. "This is your line. I don't think it'll be appropriate to break your character."

"You really are freaking crazy," she mumbled, a tear cascading down her cheek, which she wiped away. "Can I say something even crazier?"

"You may."

"Yes, you idiot! Of course!" He got up and slipped the ring onto her ring-finger on her left hand. She jumped into his arms, wrapping her legs around his torso and squeezing him to death.

"If you want to get to the marriage part, you're going to have to keep me alive, you know?" he teased, hugging her back with the same amount of strength she was hugging him with. "I love you, Lucy Heartfilia."

    "I love you more, Natsu Dragneel."

     "I love you more no matter whatever you say, Lucy Dragneel."

     Lucy hadn't even noticed the crowd erupting with loud cheers and claps. She was so focused on Natsu, she forgot about everything else— literally.

    A pink coated her cheeks as she realized what she did in public. Natsu didn't seem to care much as he kissed her lips with his affection and love travelling through his lips to hers.

     "Come on, Mrs. Dragneel," he teased again with his signature smile. "Life's short, you know?"

     Lucy nodded and smiled. "I do know."  
  
  


**_-edited-_ **

**_the next chapter is the_ ** ** final ** **_chapter of this book, sadly. if, for some reason, you like my writing, stay tuned for another book i'll be publishing soon. maybe may or during/after the summer...? i don't know yet, i want to write a few chapters before publishing because i don't want to make you guys wait._ **

**_anyway, hope you enjoyed the chapter!! my goal is to publish the epilogue tomorrow, but it may come out next week. we'll see :)_ **

**_have a good day!!_ **


	21. Epilogue

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WATTPAD.COM/XXDARK_PASSENGERXX

**third pov**

Natsu stared in the mirror as he finished tying his tie around his neck. He straightened out his suit and gave himself a good look, wanting to look as good as he could for his soon-to-be-wife on this special day. However, the bullet of sweat didn't make him look very enticing.

He turned around to face the annoyed Gray. With some sweat trickling down his face, he asked the same question he already asked seven times in the past hour or so. "How do I look?"

Gray forced a smile and punched the side of the bed out of frustration. "You look freaking perfect— Are you done yet?" He was tired of telling the pinkette of how good he looked. It wasn't that he looked bad, but Gray was just tired of repeating himself over and over again.

One last time, Natsu told himself as he looked in the mirror. He smiled and turned around to face Gray again. "I think so."

"You're so hopeless!" Gray mumbled, standing up with his hands in his pants' pockets, which, surprisingly, were still in. He was trying his best not to become infuriated, remembering how nervous he was on his wedding day, but he was very impatient. He couldn't help but want to gauge his eyes out.

"Jesus Christ, you meanie!" Natsu stuck out his tongue and crossed his arms. "Don't you remember how annoying you were when you were getting married? You were worse than I am!" Natsu cried out, throwing his arms everywhere.

"Tch." Gray rolled his eyes, looking off to the side. "Stop being so damn loud."

Natsu shook his head and fixed his tie once again before spinning on his heels to look at Gray. "Let's just go. I'm sure everyone's waiting."

"Why would they be waiting for you?" Gray scoffed with a laugh, thinking his joke was funny.

"They're not." Natsu smiled even more. "They're waiting for my beautiful future wife."

—

     "Levy!" Lucy screamed, hurrying away from the bluenette. At the moment, the blonde was only wearing the underparts of the dress. She still had to wear the stunning, white dress, but the measurements must have been wrong because it was a size or two too small.

     Levy was trying to force the dress onto Lucy, but that clearly was not working. "It'll fit if we just push it down harder!" she protested, groaning loudly in frustration.

"Well, it's not my fault they messed it up!"

"It's not their fault you lied about your size!" Levy retorted with a smirk as she crossed her arms, the dress still draped over her left arm. When she saw Lucy's flustered face, she laughed.

"I— I didn't!"

"Whatever, we're going to have to do something. Maybe loosen the stitching from the waist and hips area," Levy suggested, running to the area with the machines.

"I'm going to be so late!" Lucy whined, flopping onto the small couch. She only had half an hour until she was called down to walk down the aisle. Still, she had to do her make-up, hair, and get the freaking dress on! "Ugh!"

Levy said nothing as she tried to unstitch some of the stitches from the dress. She focused hard, not wanting to ruin the white piece of beauty. It took a while, but she did her best to be as quick as possible.

      "And," she held up the dress up with a proud smile. "I'm done!" She stood up, stumbling over a million things in the way. She called for Lucy and the blonde stood up, quickly turning around and grabbed the dress as she thanked her.

      Lucy tried on the dress and it fit a bit easier than before. At least now she could breathe. She looked in the mirror and wondered if she really did look breathtaking. She really wanted to take Natsu's breath away.

     Shaking her head, she stormed out the change room and called for her best friend again. They decided that Levy would do her hair while Lucy did her make up. Luckily for the both of them, it worked out well.

    Levy urged Lucy to get up and pushed her out the door when they finished. They were already a bit more than half an hour late. Still, both girls were surprised it didn't take longer; not even an hour.

     Lucy walked towards her father with a smile and linked her arm in his. The two said nothing as the grand doors opened. If Lucy said anything, she was sure her father would start crying, even though it was her second time getting married.

      She looked directly at Natsu, staring into his enthralling, green eyes. Slowly, she took a step forward. Her heart was beating rapidly in joy and her smile was as big as Natsu's. Her steps were shaky out of excitement. All she wanted to do was to hug Natsu until he couldn't breathe anymore.

     Their slow journey to the alter ended quickly. Lucy couldn't tell when she got there, still staring into his piercing eyes. He held her hands and she held his as they both intertwined their fingers.

     The priest's words were drowned out of her ears, just like the stares of everyone in the crowd. The only thing keeping her from drowning as well, was Natsu and his loving gaze.

     The ring exchange went by quickly and she barely managed to remember the smile of Natsu, his delicate hands slipping the ring on her finger, and his smitten gaze.

     "Do you, Lucy Heartfilia, take Natsu Dragneel to be your lawfully wedded husband, to have and to hold, from this forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, until death do you part?" she heard the priest ask.

      With a scratchy throat and in a raspy voice, she replied happily. "I do."

     "Do you, Natsu Dragneel, take Lucy Heartfilia to be your lawfully wedded wife, to have and to hold, from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, until death do you part?"

     Lucy noted how he seemed less nervous than her. His posture was less shaky. He seemed confident in marrying her, and she loved that. She loved how he knew, without a doubt, he loved her. She loved how he felt the same.

     "I do."

     "You may now kiss the bride."

     Natsu took a small step forward to close the gap and put his right hand on her cheek. "I love you," he whispered before capturing her lips with his. The crowd cheered and a few people opened the confetti poppers.

     The crowd cleared the aisle as Natsu grabbed Lucy's hand and walked with her down the aisle. He didn't pull at her to hurry up, but gently guided her. Their smiles never left their face as they slipped into the car.

    "So," he started, still holding her hand in his. "I didn't get a chance to say it before, but you look beautifully stunning. You don't just look gorgeous, but  _you are_  gorgeous. You're my gorgeous."

     "I love you, Natsu." Flabbergasted with a blush on her cheeks, Lucy laid her head on his shoulder while holding his arm with her free hand. "With my life and more."

     "I love you, Lucy Dragneel." Natsu caressed her hand with his thumb. "With my amazing looks and more." Lucy laughed at his cockiness and decided to stay silent, liking the comfort of it.

     "Congratulations, Mr. and Mrs. Dragneel," the driver said as he stepped into the vehicle and sat behind the wheel. "I'm sure sitting in this 'Just Married' car must be overwhelming."

    "Thank you, and yes, definitely," Natsu agreed, nodding his head in assurance.

     The driver started the engine and, once the car was brought to life, he began to slowly drive out of the place it was parked. "Home, right?" he asked, looking into the rear view mirror to see Natsu nod.

     Lucy didn't know why, but all day, everything just ran through; her day skipped to where she was now. Somewhere, in Natsu's eyes, she was lost again. She wished she was much more lost than she thought, though. When the car had jolted back because of the breaks, she had to catch her breath, asking what had suddenly made him stop.

     She looked up to see them in the middle of an intersection. A line of cars was in front of them. She came to a conclusion that the light in front of them was red. Damn, traffic and traffic lights.

     A car had driven into theirs from their side. She didn't look as she shut her eyes, feeling the warm and safe embrace of Natsu's arms around her. Though his arms felt like the safest place, a glass shard or two had still slipped into her face and arm. She hissed at the pain and clutched Natsu's suit's sleeve even tighter.

     Once the shake in the car had settled down, she finally opened her eyes. Did she open her eyes too late or too early?

     She gulped loudly when she saw Natsu bleeding heavily. His arms were loosely around her and she had hugged him with all her might, begging for him to be okay. The car just had to crash into the same side Natsu was sitting at, didn't it?

     She shook him. "Na— Natsu?" She heard a hitch of breath, but that was it. His breathing was gone, along with his his heartbeat. "Natsu! This isn't funny!" she screamed, her tears increasing as they cascaded down her cheeks.

     She didn't want to come to the conclusion of him being dead. She continued to shake him fiercely, hoping it would wake him up, or her. Maybe this was all just a terrible nightmare.

    Natsu always said he loved nightmares. When he would wake up, she remembered him telling her of this feeling he would get, as if he lived through something. He would always feel more powerful. What a weird man, but she needed him alive.

     "You— You can't leave me!" she begged in between loud sobs. She heard sirens, but she knew they were too late. "You can't leave us!" she cried out loudly, holding her stomach. What a tragedy, she thought. Their future son could never see their father's supporting, loving gaze ever. They would never meet, and that made her cry even more. Their son needed to meet such an amazing man like Natsu. A father figure who could teach him lessons in a way no one else could.

     Just a bit more than half a year ago, they had survived the event with Sting. They just decided to live, they had just survived! Why did Natsu have to go? Why not her?

     She remembered the ambulance pulling up beside them. They announced Natsu officially dead when they examined him. She remembered them pulling her away to clean her up. Nothing, however, could stop her tears from flowing.  
  
  
  
  


**_-edited-_ **  
  
  
  


**_ahh, the feels!_ **

**_anyways, thank you so much for reading this story! it actually means so much, thank you!_ **

**_i really didn't think this story would get anywhere, but even if it's a few people reading, that's wonderful!_ **

**_i hope you enjoyed the book! have a good day!_ **

**_p.s. follow me (if you like my writing [why?]) if you want to read some more stories i'll be publishing soon! i don't know when, but soon! updated will be posted on my update board, or whatever it's called :)_ **

**_love you all!!_ **


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